A Lost Knight
by LogicIsBoring44
Summary: Back on the Mainland, Dean is trying his damnedest to forget his life on Hawaii, but when Steve and his Ohana get dangerously close to finding him after a hunt gone wrong, Dean needs to find somewhere they'd never think to look for him. Some place not even his dad could find him. A place where he could get his head on straight. But where? Hawaii, of course.
1. Chapter 1

**Soooo . . . sorry about the wait. July ended up being incredibly, incredibly busy for me. Tribal obligations, man. You have no idea how exhausting that is.**

 **Anyhoo, I had originally intended for this story line to end with _Grey Knights_ but somewhere along the way I lost Dean's voice and I couldn't figure out how to fix it without re-writing the whole fic. This is my solution. I have no idea how long it'll be but I'm going to try and finish it before Halloween (I get busy with more tribal obligations in September).**

 **Well, anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

It's been two months since Dean left Hawaii and the life he made there for the past year. Everything fell apart there and Dean cut his losses before he allowed them to hurt him once more.

He shipped his baby home before Dean even found a way to get himself home. It took Dean another week and a half after he already shipped his precious car back to the mainland. He knew others would laugh at the fact that it took him that long to get back home but they didn't to have to contend with a powerful government sect that had almost complete control over the islands security. They locked down the airports and shipyards before Dean even considered them as an option to get away from the islands.

Dean is nothing if not resourceful. He may have made some not-so innocent friends while he was on the island. Habits are hard to break and his dad taught him to make friends with the seedy underworld just in case he might need a quick escape should Johnny Law stick their nose where it doesn't belong.

And look, Dean's in need of a quick escape.

He used a burner phone he "forgot" to tell Steve about to contact a source to help him get off the island in a way the police won't think to look for him. Another habit he hadn't been able to shake over his time with Steve and his law enforcement _ohana_ , and he is so glad he listened to the little voice in his head, which sounded a lot like his dad, and bought the untraceable phone as precautionary measure.

 _Always listen to your instincts,_ his dad drilled into his head. Dean almost ignored it and he's so glad he didn't.

His contact, Luis Roche, has a fleet of ships that he uses to smuggle all sorts of things in and out of the islands without the police or Coast Guard finding their contraband. All it took was for Dean to get rid of a selkie that was messing with his men and boats for Dean to acquire a favor from the man.

Dean's called it in and Luis did not disappoint. He got Dean smuggled off the island and dropped him off in Texas.

It took him longer to get back to the mainland but it was worth it because Steve and the others would have had a BOLO and APB on his face and car at the California harbors and all the way up the west coast, just like Dean knew they would. It's going to be a bitch hunting from now on with his face plastered all over the TV and newspapers.

It was worth it though. Dean's free for the first time in his life. He doesn't have to take care of his dad and little brother anymore, or to be precise, he no longer feels an obligation to take care of them. That compulsion is gone for the first time since he was four. He's _free_.

He's been hunting in the Midwest since he is essentially blacklisted anywhere near the ports. Dean's hoping in another few months Steve will give up and let him live his life and cancel the APBs and BOLOs. They're hampering his ability to help people that live near or around the coast line, and he hates being inhibited like this.

Dean did swing by Stanford to see if Sam got back okay (he did) and made sure his sudden departure from the islands didn't mess with Sam's schooling (it did - dammit). Sam had been walking around like a despondent puppy that had a pretty blonde fretting about as she tried to pry the reason for Sam's sullenness out from the stubborn git. She gave up eventually and resorted to comforting the big lug until he was ready to talk. Smart woman.

He left a note saying he was fine and that he didn't blame Sam but asked to be left alone, a concept Sam should be familiar with.

Okay, so he might blame Sam a little bit. It's progress. Danny would be proud.

...Steve too.

Dean shook his head and focused on tracking down his dad so he could avoid him. The Lower 48 might seem big but when you're a hunter, the continental United States gets awfully small, and you end up running into people you'd rather not meet or see again.

Uncle Bobby rarely left the northern half of America, Caleb preferred the Northeast, Pastor Jim never left the state of Minnesota, while his dad traveled anywhere and everywhere for a job.

He can avoid the first three easily but his dad is proving to be difficult to hide from.

The thing is, if his dad didn't know he was back, it'd be a hell of a lot easier keeping out of sight, but knowing Sam, he called their dad and told him _everything_. Of course the one time he's counting on them not speaking to each other, they put aside their differences (similarities more like it) and do their best to track him down. But again, he has no idea whether or not Sam called dad and blabbed his failure of a relationship with Steve.

Dad's going to be so smug about this when they see each other.

Dean scowled and tried to get into his dad's mindset to see what case might catch his attention and go in a completely different direction. His luck will only hold out for so long. Dean's actually surprised it held out this long.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Dean poured over countless newspapers that held any information about unusual deaths and/or animal attacks. He found what looked like a rugaru in Dayton, Ohio; Dean circled it just in case his dad didn't go after it, and vowed to check on it later. There's an animal attack in Redwood National Park practically screamed wendigo, and a suspicious drowning in Flathead, Montana told Dean a very pissed off naiad is responsible.

Frowning, Dean ran through all the lore he knows about Flathead, he knows there is supposedly a lake monster there, and for all he knows that's what causing the drownings, or it could be a Weeping Woman (they like to drown people too) or it could be a stereotypical serial killer.

Any one of this options are bad. Weeping Women are hard to kill, so are naiads, and Dean's not going anywhere near a human serial killer. They are fucked up in the head. Give him monsters over humans any day of the week. At least monsters have a pattern and a set of rules, unlike humans who are complicated as fuck and go by their own made up, convoluted rules that no one can truly decipher without being fucked in the head as well.

He'll let Bobby get the Flathead one.

Dean dropped his head to the table with a thunk and a muffled groan. He moved his arms so they cushioned his head from the hard table and closed his eyes in exhaustion.

Getting back to hunting is a good move, he knows this, but fuck, he misses Steve and the others like a phantom limb. They became his family in the year he had known them, leaving them without a goodbye was the hardest thing he's ever had to do and the douchiest. Even if he does decide to go back, there is no way they'll forgive him, not after the stunt he pulled. He needs to put them behind him and get on with his life.

Fuck it. Dean's going after the rugaru. He needs a challenge to work off all the aggression he's kept pent up.

 **ALK**

Dean let out a disgusted noise after he pulled out his machete from Ronald Bertram's chopped up body, whose head snarled at him. He squirted lighter fluid on the body, grinning when Bertram hissed at him when Dean sprayed him in the face, and dropped a lit match on him with a gleeful grin.

Fucker got the drop on him, knocking his gun out of his hands before Dean could even bring it up in defense. Dean had to improvise and he thanked god he still had his machete on in it's sheath from a vampire case he came across a town over on his way to this one. The vampire was a hell of a lot easier dispatching than the fucking rugaru. Nasty creatures. Both of them.

Why the fuck do they have to have human lives? It just makes his job that much harder to do.

It's also a bright neon flag to Steve of his possible whereabouts.

Just fucking great.

Dean absently wiped his machete clean on his jeans, his brow furrowed as he thought through his options. On autopilot, he slipped the now clean machete into its sheath on his belt as he walked away from the abandoned house with a burning body inside. He splashed gasoline all around the house before he lured the rugaru to the place, knowing he'll need a place to get rid of any supernatural evidence.

His arms are killing him. It took a lot chopping to get Bertram's body diced up enough where Dean could grab the lighter fluid and light the bastard up. Damn rugaru's are hard to kill and the only way to do so was by burning them. Hence the abandoned house and gasoline scattered about.

He brought his mind back to the present. There's signs of a demonic possession in Louisiana. If he goes to take care of it, there is an almost guarentee he'll run into his father. Anything demon related, John Winchester was not far behind.

Here's the thing, Dean really wants to go after the demon, and he knows it's a bad idea to go after a demon on his own but Dean's feeling reckless. No one would have to know. Well, unless he got himself killed because he took a demon on his own, and knowing his luck, the demon will get caught again, this time by his dad, and blab his fate to the incensed Winchester patriarch.

His dad would summon his ass from Heaven just so he could lecture him on doing something so stupid and dangerous.

Dean felt the rush of rebellion shoot through his body.

He never got to rebel when he was a teenager, too busy raising his brother and taking care of his dad to even consider doing something like going against dad's orders. That time with the shtriga knocked any thoughts of ever disobeying their dad's orders and effectively killed any thoughts of rebellion Dean ever had.

He still has nightmares about that night. So many what ifs.

What if his dad hadn't come home when he did? What if Dean hadn't've left the room? What if Dean had returned when the thing held Sam in its arms? What if he couldn't have fought the shtriga off of Sam and Dean had to watch his brother slowly die in front of him, knowing he was next? What if they had died from it? Would their dad even care that they were dead or would he shrug it off and continue his pursuit of their mother's killer?

That last question haunts Dean and he gets uncomfortable thinking about it. He's honestly scared to know the answer.

There are some questions a son doesn't need to know the answer to, or a subordinate to a commanding officer. Some lines don't need to be clarified or understood for the answer might rip the rug out from underneath a person. Hell, that's soul crushing if Dean ever found out his father's true priorities.

Aaaand Dean's treading dangerous ground. He needs to change the subject _now_.

Fuck it. Dean's going after the demon.

Deja vu, anyone?

 **ALK**

Dean got his ass handed to him and then some but he has the biggest smile on his face and he's riding an unparalleled high.

Sure he's cut up, bruised, and supporting a few (hopefully not) broken bones, but god, he ganked that son of a bitch good. Dean exorcised a _demon on his own_ , and he didn't screw it up! He sent that bastard back to Hell with a great big Fuck You from Dean Winchester. Granted, he maybe shouldn't have told the demon his name but he couldn't help it. He was riding the waves of adrenaline at the time and just rolled with it.

He's a badass hunter, baby!

The thing though, when Dean told the demon riding old Mrs. Cromwell's meatsuit his name, it looked surprised and maybe a little afraid. Maybe his dad is putting the fear of Winchester in demons on his quest to find Mary Winchester's murderer.

That is the only thing making sense of the demon's reaction. The only explanation that doesn't make Dean's skin crawl and make ice run through his veins.

No one wants demons and the realm of Hell to know their name.

Not anyone sane, that is.

Dean also shoved that far back in the deepest parts of his brain, labeled it "DO NOT OPEN UNLESS YOU WANT TO BECOME A PARANOID BASTARD", and sealed the door shut. It sat snugly next to a box labeled "Night: 1983 & Mommy's Scream" and a box "1994: Morland Ghost". Those are not happy memories and he'd prefer to never remember in his lifetime.

Enough of that, Dean thought with a shake of his head. No more sad or bad thoughts.

They're not conducive to hunting.

Dean showered to wash off the blood and to soothe his bruised and aching muscles, wincing when he moved in a way that aggravated his possibly (hopefully merely bruised) broken bones. He might have to go to the hospital to get those looked at.

If he was with a hunting buddy, he'd have them take a look at them to see if they need anything more than a wrap. Maybe he should give Caleb a call.

Nope. Call Caleb, he'll call dad, and dad will know where he's at. His dad might pull out the big guns and call Sam to come talk to him since John Winchester is as bad at talking about feelings as Dean is. Hell, Dean learned it from him.

Shit. He just thought of another reason not to go to the hospital; Steve will know where he's at. Chin probably has a running program of his facial recognition should he go to a hospital or something that requires an ID. They'll swoop in, berate and/or reclaim him, and then he'll have to have those talks with Steve and Danny.

Buuut, if he doesn't go to the hospital, he could die . . . from a booboo. That's an humiliating way to go out for a hunter. He'd be a laughing stock.

Dean sucked it up and went to the hospital to get checked out. He'll have to move fast once they were done making sure he wasn't going to impale himself with his own ribs and wouldn't die from an infection. He'll have to leave the painkillers behind. They'll take too long and increase the chances of him being caught by Five-Oh.

The doctors and nurses asked him questions how he ended up with two bruised (yay!) ribs, a sprained wrist, a few stab wounds (scratches really), a torso that looked like he'd been used as a punching bag (what? demons pack one hell of a punch), and a slight concussion (see: previous explanation).

Overall, Dean thought it could have been a lot worse.

Dean booked it as soon as they cleared him but got caught before he hit the automatic doors. They made him stay over night to make sure he didn't die from a concussion. He wouldn't but they didn't believe him for some reason.

The second they cleared him the next day, Dean accepted the pain pills and took off before they changed their mind and decided to keep him another night.

On his way out of town, Dean turned on his stolen police radio to hear if Steve and the others showed up, and to see just how much distance he needs to put between him and them. Half an hour later, Dean hears over the radio of Baton Rouge Police Department that an Hawaiian task force swooped in and hounded them for answers over a fleeing key witness of a case they're working on. BRPD did not like that, judging by the amount of grumbling and sneering over the channel.

Dean grinned.

As cover stories go, him being a fleeing key witness is not a bad way to ensure to get information out of inherently uncooperative local cops when it comes to government cops. Sometimes competing agencies work well in a hunter's favor.

This is not one of those times.

Stupid cops. Why couldn't they keep their trap shut?

Now Dean has to double time it. He had to stop fill up his prescription and to check out of the hotel he was staying in. Doing those stupid mundane things cost him valuable time. He can only hope that he put enough distance between him and Baton Rouge, and Five-0. Man, they move fast. Dean can admire that about them.

The thing is, despite them being unbelievably fast at tracking him (seriously, that's kind of terrifying at how quick they found him) down, Dean is faster and better.

He has a hunt in Boston he needs to get to. He could have gone after the hunt in Georgia, but that's a _little_ too close to Louisiana for his comfort. He's tempting fate by going to Boston, it's near Caleb's territory, but he rather risk running into his fellow hunter than Steve and the others.

He has no idea how he'd react to seeing Steve again.

He might punch him. He might kiss him. Hell, Dean might do both, and get both back from Steve. Lord knows Dean wouldn't deserve it. From Danny and the other as well.

The months since he left Oahu, Dean can see that he overreacted to Steve's laughing at him. He acted like such a little bitch but he can't take it back. His pride won't let him. Though he does wonder why Steve laughed after Dean confessed his insecurities, but that is in the past and Dean has no plans on going back to Steve or Hawaii, at least not if he can help it.

He'll fire off an email to Kamekona, apologizing to his former (and only) boss for taking off like he did. It's the least he can do and it would be closing another chapter of his island life.

Theoretically, it should help him move on from a life that was pretty damn good until he got bored and toyed with Danny's feelings, encouraging the blond's developing feelings towards him until they became the real deal. That was a dick move on his part, he can admit.

Hell hath no fury like a Jersey cop scorned.

He's more afraid of Danny to be honest. He can take Steve, has beaten the SEAL before many times, but Danny? The blond wields words like a samurai, and he does not stop until _he_ thinks you've learned your lesson. He's not someone to be pissed off lightly, just ask Steve and anyone who would dare hurt his family.

That and he has more guilt towards Danny than he does Steve.

Guilt is a powerful weapon when used properly, something he knows Danny knows how to use to it's deadliest form.

And he's getting dramatic but who cares? It's just him and the open road. No dad. No Sammy. No Steve. He's on his own, and he likes it.

He does.

But seriously. What was up with that demon getting all worried over his name? It has to do with his dad, right? It _has_ to be the reason why it wigged and preferred to go back to hell than try to stop him from exorcising it. Demons, man. So weird.

It's going to bug him until he founds out the meaning behind the demon's reaction.

Fuck. That means more demon hunts, which means more of a chance running into his dad or his dad's hunting acquaintances who would rat out his location before Dean even registered why the guy looked so familiar and stop him. Sometimes hunters know when to keep their traps shut, unless it had to do with John Winchester, than their tongues are a-wagging in their haste to tell the Winchester patriarch whatever information he's looking for.

Any news of his sons would be considered high priority. Especially Dean.

Why? Because if a good lieutenant goes rogue, it needs to be reported and dealt with by their superior officer, in this case his dad.

Stupid military mentality.

They all recognize his father's dominance, his superiority, whether they admit it or not, they defer to his dad. And if his dad as a hunter BOLO out for him, there is nowhere he can hide.

Well.

That's a lie.

He can go back to Hawaii. It's out of his father's reach because the island protectors don't listen to _haoles_.

Actually that'd be a good idea. Steve and the others are on the mainland looking for him, it'd be the perfect place to hide out until Dean figures out what he's going to do. Taking hunts in the Midwest is starting to get old. He feels more trapped here than he did on the island, where he was literally trapped by the ocean and the only way to the other islands was either by plane or boat. He could hide out on Kauai. They'd never think to look for him there.

Yeah. There's plenty of rental properties there that are cash based. He'll just have to scrape together the money he'll need. It should take a month, at the latest.

So much for his plan on _not_ going back to Hawaii.

God has a sick sense of humor. When Dean meets him, he's going to clock the Almighty right on his nose. His angels, too. Nah, he'll stab the angels instead of punching them. It'll be more satisfying stabbing them and watching their bewildered faces at a mere mortal having the audacity to hurt one of the Host.

Grinning, Dean turned up the music and sang along loudly, practically shouting as he cruised his way to Boston. He's still got a hunt to do. He'll worry about getting the funds together for his venture back to Hawaii later.


	2. Chapter 2

**So...I've been busy and I knocked this out last night in a fit of creative energy (I ate a bag of skittles and got hyper). Sorry for the wait. I swear I haven't forgotten about this or my other stories.**

* * *

Turns out saving up the money for a cash based property in Kauai with decent acreage takes over three months to save up for; he's not gonna wait three months. It'll increase his chance of getting caught if he waits that long. Dean ended up dipping back into his emergency alias Roman Cahill, he managed to pay back all the money he took from the alias when he first went to Hawaii, and now it looks like he has to dip into it again. He'll have to physically go into the bank to do it. That'll leave him with a short amount of time before Steve and the others show up.

Damn Chin Ho Kelly for being a tech whiz. Or Sam. Or both. He wouldn't put it passed Sam to team up with Chin to track him down.

He also figures he'll have to clean out his bank account in Oahu, he left his money there, too afraid Steve would be able to find him that much faster if he dipped into when he made his great escape, that plus Roman Cahill's account should give him at least a year of unbotheredness. That a word? Whatever. He's making it one. At least in this instance it's a word.

Or maybe even half a year of unbotheredness while he uses the other half as travel expenses for when he eventually goes hunting again. He's learned he can't just leave behind a life he's known since he was four, it does not work, and he really wants to make a life like Bobby has in Sioux Falls.

He just needs to figure out where he's going to live where he makes a life that straddles both lines perfectly. It won't be Hawaii, he knows that much, but for now Hawaii is all he's got at the moment. It's the only safe haven he knows, and that's saying something. Dean doesn't know what its saying exactly, but it's something quite possibly important. For now though, Dean's quite happy to ignore the possibly important thing until he settles down for a bit before delving into that particular minefield.

He doesn't know what could blow up in his face and he'd rather do that when has a bolt hole that guarenteed privacy.

There doesn't need to be any witnesses to see him cry like a little girl, Steve and the others have already seen him crying like a hormonal pregnant woman, and there is no need to add anyone else to that list. He just barely reclaimed his masculinity. He really does not want to lose something he just regained, and not so soon afterwards either.

Dean banged his head against Baby's steering wheel in exasperation. He really needs to learn how to shut his mind up without bodily harm to himself, and now he needs to go to the nearest gas station to purchase some pain medication. Which reminds him, he needs to start making a list of things he'll be needing for his future place on Kaui, and that he needs to actually look up the island to learn it's topography and its history.

This time around he's going to have escape routes he could easily maneuver around Steve and the others should they find him. He's holding out for the best that they won't find him. His luck can't possibly be that bad.

Dean knocked on wood.

Call him superstitious, but Dean is not leaving that up to chance. His past bad luck doesn't need any help finding him and reminding him he's its bitch. Nope. No help from him.

He better find some salt to throw of his shoulder as insurance. Table salt, that is. He's not wasting rock salt for superstition.

 **ALK**

Dean is never, _never_ flying again. Nope. He's either driving or he's flat out not going. Someone else can handle hunts that require flying to get to their destination because this hunter will be forever landlocked after he leaves Hawaii for the second time, and no amount of pleading and/or conjoling will make him get on a plane. Not even the promise of pie and strippers.

Caleb already tried that on him, though he thinks that has more to do with getting a bead on him than actually needing his help.

Man, his dad must be putting the fear of Winchester in their friends and fellow hunters for Caleb to try and trick him into revealing his location. Dean does get why Caleb tried, though, he does. A pissed off John Winchester is not something to be taken lightly, and when it's a subordinate taking off like Dean did, no wonder the hunters are rallying behind his dad in his attempts to find him. Luckily, luck has been on his side for once.

Dean has no doubts his dad will find him eventually. John Winchester is a master tracker. He'll find Dean when he's fed up with Dean's attitude and childishness.

He is not looking forward to the tongue lashing his dad will undoubtedly give him.

Thank the Fates his dad is not there yet. He's probably smirking that smug smile of his as he watches Dean flounder around pretending he knows how to hide from the great John Winchester. Yeah, that's probably what his dad's doing, while he's twirling his mustache and petting a fluffy white cat.

Come on, Dean!

Shaking his head, Dean pulled up Kaui's listing website and typed in his budget to see what popped up in his search. There's a few possible properties that look promising, turn-key ready and willing to take cash with no questions asked. Just Dean's kind of people.

With the money in his Oahu bank account combined with the Roman Cahill money, Dean could rent the place for the next 6 months. He's hoping he won't need to stay there that long.

Until then, he has some hunting to do. There's a shapeshifter in New Mexico calling his name. He has a score to settle with shapeshifters, his pride took a beating last year with Five-0's first ever creature of myth and legend, and he would like to payback the favor. This shapeshifter will get the beating of it's life before Dean kills it, after getting information about any other shifters in the area.

Always got to prioritize civilians first. Pride and ego second.

At least that's what his dad would say. Okay, has been saying but Dean hasn't really listened to that until now.

Then again, his dad often stayed behind to make sure the people he saved knew it was him but leaving before the cops show up to question him. Hell, his dad gave out one of his dead drop addresses for the people he saved so they could send him thank you gifts. Most of the time it was money they sent, an occasional basket of non-perishable goodies, and one time, someone sent his dad enough ammo for them to last through an apocalpse.

It saved them some money for the next couple of months.

Dad even took him and Sam to an amusement park with the extra money they saved. Dean still has some pictures from that day.

A thought popped into his head that had Dean pulling out a sheaf of paper and started writing a letter to Steve . . . and Danny, too. Seperate, of course. He needs to explain himself to Danny for his actions in Oahu, to explain that he didn't mean to lead the older man on, and that he wasn't having a laugh at his expense. And he'll beg for him not to tell Steve.

The last part being the most important.

With him leaving like he did, Steve will most likely hit him for toying with Danny like that, and Dean wouldn't stop him because he'd deserve it. Dean really likes Danny. He does.

Dean wrote quick letters to Steve and Danny and dropped them off at a letter box on his way out of town. He left a little gift for them as well at the hotel he just checked out of. Once they got the letters he just dropped off, they'll make a beeline to the hotel to see if they could get any clues as to where he might possibly be going. Good luck to them!

Snorting to himself, Dean aimed the Impala towards New Mexico.

 **ALK**

Dean landed with a grunt. His chest felt like it was on fire and he couldn't quite get his breath back. Someone chuckling darkly came from his left, on the side he's having a hard time seeing out of at the moment. He took a few blows to the face from the shapeshifting bastard when he snuck up on Dean while Dean had been hunting for the asshole, and Dean might have a few bruises in and around some sensitive areas that he won't be mentioning to _anyone_.

The shapeshifter fired Dean's own shotgun of rocksalt at him that had Dean dodging away from the blast. The shot hit the building wall behind him, spraying him with mortar and woodchips. Stupid industrial architecture.

Who buys a house that has exposed beams and brick? On the inside? Dumbasses, that's who.

On the plus side, there's a lot of iron that he can use to slow the fucker down. No silver though. Bastards. You got all this pretentious shit just lying around with appliances and furniture that's hard to pronounce or even try to write it down to find out what the hell it is later, and some useless shit that Dean can now see is merely decorative crap to "bring the room together".

No fucking silver in sight.

Dean lost his silver knife embarrassingly early on. Like as soon as Dean entered the apartment early. If his dad was here, he'd make Dean do PT for a year, _and_ he'd make Dean do all the research and carry all their crap on hunts. He'd also make Dean make them new fake IDs at fucking Kinko's. Dean hates Kinko's with a fiery passion.

Well, he'd make Dean do all that after he quit laughing his ass off.

Dean used his momentum from his roll so he sprang up to his feet and he ran towards the hallway leading to the front door. In hindsight, Dean should have ran towards the balcony doors. That way he wouldn't have run straight into the shapeshifter who had been going to barricade the door to keep Dean from escaping that way, and he wouldn't have got kneed in the groin on the way down to the ground. But he at least he managed to slam his elbow in the 'shifter's ribcage.

Dean definitely heard a crack on the way down.

He prayed like hell he wasn't on the receiving end of the crack.

The shapeshifter howled in agony and shoved Dean off of it. They scrambled up to their feet and ran to opposite ends of the apartment to nurse their wounds and to regroup. It would be hilarious on any other day.

Dean would be laughing his ass off if he ever saw this in person, and if he wasn't the one being acting like a rookie on his first hunt, Dean would be actively enjoying this. Quite a bit actually.

He now officially lost sight in his left eye. Great. He's fighting handicapped with a strong as hell shapeshifter, who has his shotgun, one of his escape routes blocked from him, and who is now most likely guarding the balcony door. Dean knew he should have memorized the layout of the building before he went in. His dad is so going to kick his ass when he finds out.

The spirits are gonna tell on him. He knows it deep in his bones. They'll rat on him and it'll force his dad to come after him for real instead of the lazy shit he's been doing.

Hunting with one functioning eye is not fun nor is it recommended for the faint of heart.

A sound to his left had Dean pivoting so fast he actually spun in a circle. Blushing hotly, Dean prayed the 'shifter didn't see that particularly embarrassing move, but then again, he kind of hopes it did because the sound of it laughing its stolen ass off would give away its position allowing Dean to run in the other direction until he's found a suitable weapon to kill it. Or something to slow it down until Dean can escape. He's not really picky at the moment.

"Hey, there, pretty," the 'shifter masquerading as Ronald Grint whispered in his ear, on his fucking left side.

Dean let out the most unmanly yelp ever recorded in the history of manliness.

The 'shifter stared at him, taken aback, and then snorted in delight, actually doubled over laughing when it couldn't contain its amusement. Dean stared at it in consternation and indignation. It's not that funny! It's not. It is most certainly not that funny and this asshole is actually on its knees and holding its stomach.

Dean brought his knee up, slamming it into the 'shifter's nose, grinning when he heard its nose break. He kicked the 'shifter in its stomach and grappled for the gun. Dean tripped over the 'shifter and crashed into the concrete floor with an almighty smack that even made the 'shifter wince in sympathy. He cried out in pain and kicked the 'shifter weakly in retaliation.

Dean and the 'shifter lay side by side panting and wincing with each breath. The 'shifter wrapped its hand around Dean's ankle and squeezed feebly in an attempt to hurt Dean back. Dean slapped its hand away.

"Stoooop," Dean whined.

"Noooo," the 'shifter whined back. It slid its hand under Dean's pant's leg and scratched Dean with its long ass nails.

"Ow! You asshole," Dean pulled its hair.

The 'shifter yelped and batted Dean's hand away from its raven black hair. It slapped Dean in the upper thigh, aiming for Dean's groin but missing by just a hair, and Dean is grateful for that.

Dean smacked the 'shifter in its face.

It was the most pathetic fight Dean's ever been in. Ever.

"Truce!" the 'shifter shouted, well, rasped wetly.

Dean huffed and slapped the 'shifter on the head to make a point before gasping out, "Alright, fine, but we are _never_ telling anyone about this, you hear me? If you tell, I'm back after your ass and next time I won't be so spazzy and lose my knife early on."

The 'shifter huffed but nodded its head against Dean's shoulder. He has no idea when the 'shifter moved its head so it was right next to Dean but he was too exhausted and hurt to do anything about it. He nudged it with his shoulder, earning a whine of protest from the 'shifter but it obliged and looked up at him with its stolen blue eyes.

"I'm going to go to sleep right now. Don't do anything," he warned it. The 'shifter nodded before nuzzling Dean's shoulder and falling asleep. Dean snorted but quickly followed suit.

When Dean woke up the next morning, the 'shifter was still snuggled up to Dean's side, its arms and legs wrapped tightly entangled with Dean's. He groaned and feebly tried to shove the 'shifter away from him. The only thing it accomplished was have the 'shifter tighten its grip. The 'shifter rocked its hips against Dean, letting Dean know it has morning wood, and that Dean's body is a filthy traitor by responding in kind.

The 'shifter's hips started to find a rhythm that had it panting in no time. Its knee rubbing against knees groin, working Dean to full hardness.

"Son of a bitch," Dean moaned before pulling the 'shifter on top of him and mumbled to himself, "This is so wrong but I really don't fucking care."

The 'shifter grunted before waking up fully, its stolen blue eyes widening before turning dark with lust as it rocked its hips a little more incessantly, almost desperately against Dean. It whined as it buried its face in Dean's neck, panting as it chased completion. Dean grabbed its ass and ground up against the 'shifter, moaning loudly when the 'shifter slid its hands under Dean's shirt and tweaked and teased his right nipple into hardness.

Dean brought his legs up to wrap around the 'shifter's waist.

"Harder," Dean gasped and the 'shifter let out disbelieving groan and did as told.

He was so close. He needed something. Anything.

The 'shifter must have sensed this. It started sucking and licking on Dean's neck, nipping every now and then. Dean grabbed onto the 'shifter's raven hair and pulled it up for a kiss. The 'shifter moaned and sucked on Dean's tongue with fevered desperation, its hips rocking hard against Dean's. It slid its hands under Dean's ass to lift him up so it could grind harder into Dean.

Dean pulled his mouth away to gasp for breath, his hands still entangled in the 'shifter's hair. The 'shifter turned its attention back to Dean's neck, sucking a mark on his collar bone. Heat started to pool in Dean's belly. He is so close. The 'shifter bit Dean on the shoulder, just above the mark it sucked on Dean's collar bone.

That was what Dean needed. His hands tightened their grip in the 'shifter's raven hair as his orgasm crashed into him, spilling into his underwear like a damn teenager. The 'shifter watched him with an intensity that sent another spike of heat through Dean's body, and he clenched his thighs around the 'shifter, encouraging it to use his body. The 'shifter dropped its head next to Dean, its breath ghosting over Dean's neck, sending shivers of pleasure up and down Dean's spine as it panted in pleasure.

Dean turned his head so he could capture the 'shifter's lips again for another kiss. The 'shifter moaned into Dean's mouth as its hips lost all rhythm, rolling and grinding against Dean chasing its own completion.

"Come on," Dean urged the creature. "Come for me, baby."

The 'shifter's eyes flared at Dean's words, changing from blue to green to brown to an almost golden color. Dean felt another spike of arousal shoot through him.

He reached up and tenderly caressed the 'shifter's cheek.

"You got beautiful eyes," Dean whispered softly, surprised at his admission.

The 'shifter gave a cry and came, burying its face into Dean's chest, its hips still rocking against Dean as it rode out the waves of pleasure crashing through it. It turned its head so it could kiss Dean, pulling away enough so it could gasp before crashing its lips against Dean's, nipping at Dean's lower lip before soothing it by rubbing its tongue over the tender area.

Dean slip his hands into the 'shifter's hair, tugging it enough for the 'shifter to moan and suck harder on Dean's tongue.

They pulled back and rested their foreheads together as they struggled to get their breath back. The 'shifter nuzzled Dean's jaw and pressed a chaste kiss on Dean's lips. It remained laying on top of Dean, seemingly not wanting to move, as if afraid to break the spell that settled over them, and Dean can't really blame it. He didn't want to break the spell either.

"What's your real name?" Dean asked in a soft voice after a minute of companionable silence.

The 'shifter ducked its head, hiding its face in the crook of Dean's neck.

"Daniel," it whispered into Dean's neck. "My name is Daniel."

Dean hummed and slid his arms around the 'shifter's - Daniel's - neck. He bumped his nose against Daniel's and grinned when Daniel blushed and ducked its - his - head again. Daniel settled his body a little more securely against Dean.

Time passed and neither Dean nor the 'shifter named Daniel moved. Dean ignored the stickiness, now incredibly tacky, feeling in his pants. He really needs to shower and change his underwear soon. The cum dried and is pulling against his pubic hair with every shift of his body, and judging by Daniel's winces every now and then is telling him he's experiencing the same thing as Dean.

"How's your nose and ribs?" Dean asked.

Daniel shrugged ducked his head bashfully. "They're okay," he mumbled. "Already healed."

"Now that is just not fair," Dean complained. "Do I have blood all over my face?"

Daniel nodded.

"Damn. Shower?"

Daniel lifted his head up enough so he could stare at Dean in disbelief. He peered into Dean's eyes to see if he was joking but Dean meant it. He'd really like to shower, and not alone. Showering is always more fun with someone to wash him instead of Dean doing it himself.

The 'shifter nodded his head hesitantly. Dean gently shoved Daniel off of him and held his hand out for the (at the moment) brunet to grab, and Dean hoisted him to his feet. He kept a hold of the 'shifter's hand and lead him back to the top of the line bathroom that had all the bells and whistles of money well wasted. At least the shower seemed promising. It had a rainfall shower head and that is always a plus in Dean's book.

Daniel seemed shy and watched Dean undress with hungry eyes. Dean smiled and grabbed one of Daniel's belt loops to pull him close. A blush worked its way down Daniel's face and disappeared under Daniel's blue cardigan, and Dean was delighted to see it continued all the way down to his chest when Dean divested him of it and the white undershirt.

Dean leaned forward and licked a stripe down the 'shifter's chest before moving to suck on one of Daniel's dusty nipples, teasing it to harden. Daniel gasped and collapsed against the bathroom wall at the sensation, unused to such a feeling. His stolen blue eyes darkened with lust and wonder.

"Again," Daniel begged quietly.

Dean complied and sucked on the other nipple, his right hand playing with the other, making Daniel gasp and arc underneath Dean's hands. Dean's beginning to think he might have just slept with a goddamn virgin.

"More, please."

Dean slid down to his knees and started unbuttoning Daniel's slacks, Ronald Grint must be a nerd extraordinaire to wear this shit, and nuzzled Daniel's crotch. Grinning when Daniel's legs buckled from the sensation of Dean being so close to an area that he suspects Daniel's only touched out of necessity. Poor virgin shapeshifter.

He pressed his arm against Daniel's legs to keep him upright and mouthed Daniel's erection to full hardness. Daniel let out a breathy groan and gripped Dean's hair in lieu of anything else to do, he rocked instinctively against Dean's ministrations, a litany of "please" and "mores" falling out of his lips at an alarming speed.

Dean decided he played with the 'shifter long enough and pulled Daniel's underwear down enough to free Daniel's poor, trapped cock. He quirked an eyebrow at the size but shrugged eternally. He looked up into Daniel's lust blown eyes and slowly slid the head of Daniel's cock into his mouth, maintaining eye contact, and that was all it took for Daniel to come.

It was a little sudden but not too unexpected. Dean quickly swallowed Daniel's release, easing up when Daniel whined in discomfort, oversensitive.

Daniel let out a shaky breath and slid down the wall, wincing slightly when his bare bottom hit the cold tile of the bathroom floor. He reached out and pulled Dean into for a kiss, moaning at the taste of himself in Dean's mouth, his hands undoing Dean's buckle and unbuttoned Dean's jeans so he could jerk Dean off.

Dean sighed and pulled away so he could suck a hickey on Daniel's neck, rocking his hips into Daniel's hand. It took only a few strokes before Dean was coming embarrassingly fast.

A loud drawn out groan had Daniel whimpering at the sound and sought Dean's lips for a kiss when he felt Dean spill all over his hand. He continued stroking Dean until Dean batted his hand away weakly. Daniel slid his hand up Dean's waist while he brought the other covered in cum and tasted it in curiosity. Dean watched him with wide eyes, the green a sliver ring around his blown pupil.

"Taste good?" Dean asked as a joke.

Daniel licked his hand clean and nodded at Dean, blushing when Dean laughed incredulously.

"Very good," Daniel complimented and pushed Dean back so he was lying flat. He pulled Dean's jeans down to his ankles, hindered by the fact Dean's combat boots were still on, and licked Dean's cock clean.

Dean twitched and hissed but didn't stop Daniel as the brunet worked him back to hardness. He kept going until Dean came down the other man's throat, Daniel moaned at the taste and jerked himself off.

"We're really gonna have to shower now," Dean said in a breathy voice. Daniel hummed in agreement and snuggled against Dean on the bathroom floor.

Dean brought his hand up and caressed Daniel's sweaty back while his other carded through Daniel's raven black hair. Daniel leaned into the touch like a cat, turning his head so he could kiss Dean's palm before shifting so he could nuzzle Dean's neck. He seems to favor that area. Daniel kissed Dean's neck and curled into Dean's side, wrapping his arms around Dean's torso, content to lay in Dean's embrace.

Dean allowed a few minutes reprieve so they could catch their breath and regain some strength in their noodle-like legs. He chivied Daniel into getting up and out of his soiled clothes.

The shapeshifter became self-conscious when he caught Dean staring at him, he crossed his arms to cover his chest and turned his body away, as if ashamed of how he looked. Dean couldn't have that because Ronald Grint has a runner's build, his favorite kind of body type. He crowded the 'shifter against the wall and ducked his head to capture Daniel's lips into a kiss, running his hands up and down Daniel's flank and sides, gripping the other man's ass and grinding against him.

Daniel let out a gasp and whimpered against Dean's lips.

"Can I see you?" Dean asked. "The real you."

Daniel shuddered and shook his head. "I don't remember what I look like."

Dean hummed thoughtfully. He kicked off his shoes and took off his jeans, wrapping his arms around Daniel's waist, leading the brunet into the shower. Daniel wrapped his arms around Dean's neck, trusting Dean to take care of him, and Dean felt that trust weigh heavy on his shoulders. How can he tell the young 'shifter that he might have to kill him after their shower?

He turned a couple of knobs to turn the water on and get the right temperature before leading Daniel under the spray of the showerhead. Daniel let out a content sigh and leaned against Dean, burying his face into the crook of Dean's neck.

Dean grabbed a cloth and a bottle of body wash and lathered Daniel up, taking care as he washed all the blood off the 'shifter's body, lingering over the bruises Dean gave him from their fight last night. Dean took care as he cleaned every inch of Daniel's body, grinning when he looked up to see Daniel staring at him with a vulnerable and trusting expression. Dean's heart twinged at the sight and he covered it up by kissing Daniel on the stomach, causing the 'shifter to giggle and pull away from the tickling sensation.

Dean grinned at him and blew a raspberry into the 'shifter's stomach. Daniel laughed and shoved Dean away.

He pulled Dean up to his feet and kissed him with all he's worth, taking the cloth away and started returning the favor by cleaning Dean of last night's fight. He kissed every bruise, cut, and scar he found on Dean's body with affection and tenderness that made Dean's throat close up with an emotion he couldn't name.

Dear God, the innocence radiating off of Daniel is making Dean have a slight existential crisis about what he's doing.

Dean turned the shower off and held Daniel in his arms until the air cooled enough for them to start shivering. Daniel grabbed Dean's hand and lead him into Ronald Grint's bedroom and pilfered some clothes for them to wear. Dean had been pleasantly surprised to find some not-douchey clothes.

He found a pair of jeans that fit Dean perfectly and a black and red AC/DC band tee. He refused to let Daniel wear more slacks and cardigans and dressed the 'shifter in black jeans and a white undershirt with a blue plaid flannel. He rolled the sleeves up to Daniel's elbows and stood back to admire the view. Daniel blushed and moved in to bury his face into the crook of Dean's neck, arms resting loosely around Dean's waist.

Dean held him back and pressed a kiss to Daniel's temple.

"Please don't kill me," Daniel begged, voice muffled yet still understandable. Not stupid enough to think that just because they had sex together would keep him safe. "I haven't killed anyone. Ronald Grint isn't even in the country. I was just trying to find somewhere to sleep that wasn't on the street and some food that wasn't found in a trash bin."

Fuck. Can Dean really blame him for not wanting to sleep out in the streets? He's done that a few times and it was not fun.

He felt a wetness around his neck and shoulder. Aw, hell. Daniel's crying.

Dean tightened his grip on Daniel. He shushed the young 'shifter and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet in an attempt to soothe the creature.

"I won't kill you," Dean whispered back. He's a little surprised at his answer. He really can't bring himself to even contemplate killing Daniel beyond thinking it. "I won't kill you," he repeated.

Daniel let out a wail at that and clutched Dean tighter. Dean gripped him back and whispered soothing words to the distraught creature, pressing kisses to Daniel's face and neck while Daniel expelled every fear he had about Dean killing him into Dean's shoulder.

"Can I come with you?" Daniel asked plaintively.

Dean sighed, causing Daniel to cling to him even more, while Dean tried to figure out a nice way to say no.

He settled on, "You know I'm a hunter, Daniel. Do you really think that's the best place you can be safe with?"

Daniel nodded his head vigorously. "Yes, because no one would expect it."

Dean huffed a laugh at that.

"Please, hunter. Can I come with you?"

He sighed again and used his right hand to scrub his face in aggravation. Is he really going to say what he's thinking of saying?

"Yes, you can come with me." Apparently he is.

Daniel let out a squeal of happiness and stole a kiss from Dean.

Well, this is unexpected. Dean's taking a shapeshifter with him to Hawaii to hide from his ex-boyfriend and his government sanctioned task force as well as hiding from his possibly pissed off and disappointed father. Dean can see how _nothing_ can go wrong with that. Absolutely nothing, despite the fact he's going back to the one place Steve has complete control, but it's also the last place Steve will think to look.

He's really glad he saved up a shitload of money because he's now feeding (cooking?) for two.

What the fuck is he doing? No, seriously, it seems like he's actively trying to make his own life harder by taking in a goddamned shapeshifter who seems to be attached to him.

Fuck his life.

* * *

 **Daniel the Shapeshifter came out of nowhere but he is badly needed to help me further this story along to where I want it. He's not just a throwaway character. Also, Steve will be popping up soon. Either the next chapter or the chapter after that. I love Steve, and so does Dean. ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry! I actually had this done by Christmas but I was out in the middle of nowhere with no wifi visiting family for the holidays. I only just got back. (I had to stay behind with my uncle until his helper arrived.)**

 **I'm almost done with the next chapter and should be up by next week, at the latest, but until then, enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

As it turns out, Daniel is not a big fan of flying. Nope. Not at all. They spent the entire four hour plane ride freaking out together. Dean's pretty sure the flight stewardesses hate him and Daniel and might possibly have heart palpitations from them. Oops!

Daniel pulled a Dean and booked it off the plane, not following protocol and hugged the blessed ground below them. Dean follow at a - slightly, though not really - sedate pace, carrying their bags. He gave Daniel a minute to collect himself before nudging him to get to his feet and follow him into the terminal, thankful for the prosthetics he paid a pretty penny for to alter his appearence slightly so Steve wouldn't know he's back in Hawaii.

He found a neat little boon to bringing Daniel with him; Steve won't be looking for two dudes traveling together, he'd expect for Dean to be traveling alone. Though in hindsight he should have had Daniel change into a woman for their flight. Steve'd've never thought to think of that.

Their fellow passengers laughed at them when they walked passed. Dean shrugged at them and slapped on his most 'aw shucks' and charming smile at them, grinning widely when he saw a few blink, momentarily stunned at the sight of his winning smile. Daniel grumbled and scowled at the ones staring at Dean, wrapping a possessive arm around Dean's waist.

Dean rolled his eyes but returned the gesture and waved the others off. He smacked a kiss on Daniel's cheek and steered him towards the terminal. They got the rest of their bags and Dean rented an all-terrain Range Rover in gun metal grey.

He shared a smile with Daniel, who no longer has the dark hair and blue eyes of Ronald Grint, but the blond hair and brown eyes of some foreign model with wicked cheekbones they found in an old fashion magazine. At first Daniel had been hesitant to change his visage, afraid that Dean wouldn't like his new look but when he showed Dean his new appearance, the other man couldn't stop staring at him before shaking his head to clear it.

Daniel bit his lip to hide his smug smile.

Not long after they left New Mexico, Dean had asked him how old he was, a tenseness around his shoulders while he waited for Daniel's answer. He shrunk down in his seat and played with the edge of his stolen flannel.

"In my twenties," Daniel admitted, not noticing Dean's flash of relief. "I think, at least. I could be older. I lost track after my tenth winter. I don't even know my birthday."

Dean hummed in thought.

"You do realize the dangers of traveling with me, right?" Dean asked, pinning Daniel to his seat with his intense stare that had the shapeshifter fidgeting. "You could die at any time or a fellow hunter could figure out you're not human and wait for me to leave before killing you, and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it." Daniel gulped. "If I did, they'd consider me defective and put me out of my misery.

"Or worse, they could call my dad and _he'd_ kill you then he would never let me leave his side. I'd be known as John Winchester's Greatest Disappointment. My reputation would be ruined and I'd be a laughing stock, and not just with the other hunters, but with the creatures and monsters we hunt," Dean sighed and ran one of his hands through his hair.

They drove in silence for a bit before Dean added, "Fear of us keeps the monsters and demons from doing anything too dangerous or vowing vengeance and coming after us. Word gets out I've got a shapeshifter under my protection, that's it. It'll be fighting from there on out. Hunters and monsters would be coming after us."

Daniel shivered and drew his knees up to his chest, thankful Ronald Grint was shorter than the average male.

"I guess it's a good thing we're leaving the continental United States then, huh," Dean said with a joking grin. Daniel smiled back faintly, heart still beating hard at the threat he's now made aware of looming over them.

Did it make him want to leave Dean's side? No, not really. He's so sick of being alone. No wonder his kind resorts to killing; the loneliness drives them mad, and no matter what visage they take, they're still alone in the world. They can't even congregate together because they'd end up killing each other out of self-hatred and loathing of what they are. At least on their own, they could pretend they're not monsters but normal people.

Echoes of Ronald Grint's life still float around inside his head and he wonders if this is a contributing factor to his kind going crazy. It's not easy juggling so many memories and keeping the facts straight. Luckily the new memories of Enver Mathias drown it out. Maybe Daniel should have chosen another image to take because all he's getting is parties and whispers of some foreign language he's not bothering to learn.

Though he guess Matthias might be from Denmark. That's just a guess. He really doesn't want to learn about the man he's copying. He's making this image his own. He's blocking the man's memories, apart from Matthias' knowledge of European Folklore. Yay for smart models!

Dean pursed his lips when he explained why he won't talk about the guy whose appearance he's taking but didn't push, which Daniel is insanely grateful for, but he seemed appeased by his newfound folklore knowledge. The hunter raised an eyebrow when Daniel asked him to take a picture for him as a reference should he ever need to change his image to someone else and so he could change back.

The hunter had laughed and joked about having a shapeshifter as a partner being the ultimate secret weapon in his arsenal.

Daniel knew the hunter was joking but a ball of warmth set up residence in his chest and he laughed along. He vowed right then and there to be useful to Dean, not only as a reason to give the hunter not to kill him, but as a thank you. He won't say that though. Dean seems like the kind of person who doesn't take gratitude well or a simple thanks.

He tried having sex with the hunter again, this time as a thank you instead of letting their hormones get the best of them, but Dean had gently rebuffed him, explaining what happened between them was a one-time thing. Daniel had pouted for miles but he understood Dean's hesitance. He wouldn't want to sleep with a shapeshifting creature either; a creature who couldn't even remember what it originally looked like, let alone remember if it had been born a boy or a girl.

Daniel's first and, apparently, only sexual experience had been with a hunter, who had hours previously been wanting to kill him, and, now two weeks later, he's trying not to act like a brat because he couldn't continue having sex with his "savior".

It was a sad, lonely, lonely life Daniel had been living until he met Dean.

He's still feeling a bit proprietary towards the hunter, hence him scaring off the other passengers on their plane. Luckily for him, Dean indulges his impulses as long as Daniel doesn't take it too far. Like say, kissing and/or groping him.

The only stop they made was at the realtor's office to get the keys to their new property. Dean fibbed with the nosy woman, flirting shamelessly that had the older lady blushing like a school girl, causing Daniel to bite back any negative reactions and kept his mouth shut. He dawdled around the office, waiting for Dean to get done.

The welcoming, beckoning warmth of the Hawaiian sun taunted him from the other side of the plexiglass. _"Come to me,"_ it whispered seductively. _"I know how much you want to."_

Daniel shook his head to keep from listening to the sunlight. Dean'd be mad if he disobeyed. They have to keep a low profile as to not attract the attention of Dean's ex, who is quite big and scary looking. Dean's ex is the kind of person he took great pains to avoid while he lived on the streets, or, on occasion, beneath them. They're usually big alpha males who knew exactly how to throw their weight around to get what they want from people but they also know how to make their appearance less threatening when they wanted to.

How they do that, Daniel has no clue. And he might be slightly jealous of that skill.

Dean had told him of his deal with Steve McGarrett and his _government task force_ and what transpired a few months ago that sent Dean running back to the "mainland", as Dean called it. They've only been on the island of Kauai for an hour and Dean's entire demeanor changed to a more loose limbed yet still lethal grace that had Daniel shifting in his ridiculously colored board shorts. The hunter seemed more at ease here.

Or maybe Dean is a damn good actor and he's hiding his tenseness by acting relaxed to put Daniel at ease. He's learning Dean wouldn't be above doing that.

The hunter wrapped up his conversation with the nosy realtor and herded Daniel out into the Hawaiian sunlight. Both Daniel and the sunlight sighed in relief. Dean quirked a brow but he was smiling. Daniel basked in the light for a minute, the feeling of a new beginning washed over while Dean patienly waited for him by the Range Rover. He shot Dean a smile before joining him.

"Ready?" Dean asked mockingly.

Daniel ducked his head and nodded bashfully.

Dean snorted.

 **ALK**

Their rental property ended up being a pale blue bungalow set on ten acres of land that had Dean frowning slightly. Dean told him he'd been hoping for a little more acreage but what they have will do, and when Daniel asked for what, Dean smiled a little evilly and told him it was for his future training. That and they'll need to rig up some early warning systems and an alarm for humans and monsters.

Daniel'd really prefer not to learn how to hunt, he'd just be backup instead of an investigator, and he'd even help Dean dig up any bones or do research for the hunter. The thought of killing his own kind, makes him sick to his stomach, or even going after his fellow supernatural creatures. It's wrong on a level he's not sure how to explain to a hunter. Even if that hunter is Dean.

What if Dean doesn't want him around because he's not offering anything useful for him to use in his battle against evil?

He doesn't want to leave the only person who has been knowingly nice to him. And what he means by that, is that Dean knows he's a shapeshifter and is being _nice to him_. He doesn't treat Daniel like he's a monster. He treats him like Daniel's "normal". Just another guy, and Daniel is really liking it.

Dean snapped his fingers to get Daniel's attention, causing the young shapeshifter to flinch and almost bang his head against the passenger side window. Blushing hotly, he looked at Dean and prayed Dean wouldn't say anything about what just happened.

Other than an amused smirk, Dean gestured for him to get out and grab their bags while he unlocked their house for the foreseeable future. It was a modest three bedroom, one bathroom house with a somewhat updated kitchen. The appliances at least looked like it wouldn't go up in flames should they turn it on and the furniture wasn't completely horrible (no floral patterns, yay!), but there is some serious dusting needing to be done.

He'll have Daniel do it. Cleaning is _not_ his thing.

Daniel came barreling through the house, staggering under the weight of all the bags. Dean shook his head despairingly. Two trips max was all that was needed but nooooo, Daniel had to bring them all in at the same time.

The shapeshifter deposited the bags onto the floor, sending up a plume of dust that had Daniel coughing and stumbling away to get some "fresher" air. Dean doubled over laughing while Daniel blushed bright red in embarrassment, he shoved the hunter to get him to stop making fun of him but it only made Dean laugh harder

Oh yeah, they are so airing out the house.

"Open the windows," Dean ordered Daniel.

Daniel heaved a put upon sigh. He trudged his way over to the literal wall of windows and started unlatching them before he went back around to shove them open.

"Why couldn't they have a folding sliding door?" Daniel complained. "That way we could have the living lead out onto the porch."

"Lanai," Dean corrected.

"What?"

"It's not called a porch. It's called a lanai," Dean informed the bemused shapeshifter.

Daniel frowned at the "lanai". He opened his mouth to say something but shrugged and continued walking around the bungalow to open all the windows. He trusts Dean. Doesn't matter if Daniel doesn't get it, Dean knows best. That, and Dean lived here for a year with a walking Adonis. Or is it Poseidon? Either nickname works for the SEAL.

Both names are intimidating as hell, too.

Dean watched Daniel for a bit, his mind carefully blank. He didn't want to trigger any memories that'll weaken his resolve to stay away from Kamekona and Grace on Oahu, but god, it's getting harder and harder to not find the next plane going home - Oahu - back to Oahu, not home. That's not his home. Not anymore. Not after overreacting and storming off like a spoiled child because his feelings got hurt and didn't get his way. That's not him. That's not who his dad raised.

A part of him is screaming at him to call Steve to talk. To actually talk. Not Dean's strong suit. Or Steve's for that matter. They both suck at communication. Not a good combination in maintaining a healthy and strong relationship between a cop and a Hunter. But another part, a bigger part, is quietly telling him he needs to let Steve go, to let the Hawaiian live his life free of any supernatural danger with his team and _ohana_.

They have enough dangerous elements in their life, they don't need him adding to it.

He misses Grace though. He never said goodbye to her, she probably hates him now, or maybe she never wants to see him again. Dean wouldn't blame her.

Sam used to give their dad the silent treatment being all passive-aggressive until their dad snapped and either yelled at Dean to fix it or not-exactly apologized by buying Sam some books or they stayed at their current residence for another month. Those three things usually worked on Sammy. Especially Dean yelling at Sam to knock it off.

Sam and their dad know Dean hates being pulled into their arguments, and Dean likes to use that against them all the time to keep them from fighting for too long.

He has no idea how Grace is going to react if he contacts her. She might ignore him or tell Danny that he contacted her and he and the rest of Five-0 would be on the next plane back to Hawaii to find him.

No. Dean's going to keep his distance for now. Not that he'd kept in contact with her after he left in the first place.

"Dean?" Daniel called, voice sounded worried. Like he'd been saying Dean's name for a while.

"Hmm?"

"All the windows are open," he told the Hunter. "What should I do now?"

Dean looked at him, thinking. "Unpack then meet me outside."

Daniel nodded and got two steps towards where the bedrooms presumably are before stopping.

"Daniel?" Dean questioned. "You okay?"

"Why am I meeting you outside?"

"You'll see," Dean replied mysteriously. It did nothing to ease Daniel's sudden bout of dread.

Dean's going to start training him this night, isn't he? Daniel is going to hate Hawaii, he knows this to his borrowed bones. Hawaii won't hold any memories of fun in the sun. No. Hawaii will remind him of sweat, blood and tears, of being torn down to his very soul - or whatever monsters like him have if not a soul - and he is going to be reborn a hunter.

The shapeshifter in him is rebelling hard at the very thought but the human side of him is more than ready to learn how to kill and survive in a world with monsters bigger and stronger than he is. The two conflicting emotions are giving him a headache and making his stomach turn.

"I can't hunt," Daniel admitted quietly, unsconsciously hoping Dean hadn't've heard him.

There's a sudden tension in the air. It had Daniel's prey instincts kicking into overdrive, adrenaline soared through his veins in preparation of either a fight-or-flight maneuver. From Dean.

He could feel Dean's stare boring into him. He's afraid to turn around to see the hunter's expression. What if he's going to send Daniel away? Or worse. What if he's going to kill him, and the last thing he sees is a disappointed Dean? He doesn't think he could handle that. He'd rather die than disappoint his savior. Which would be kind of moot since he's dead/dying by said savior's hand at that point.

"Okay," Dean said simply after a few minutes of staring at him intently, like it was no big deal.

Wait, what?

Daniel turned around to see Dean making a face at the amount of dust in the house. He ran a finger over the surface of the breakfast bar, and even from Daniel's position he could see the grime on Dean's index finger. They are so dusting in the future.

He has to ask.

"Is it really okay? That I don't want to hunt. It's okay?"

Dean nodded at him.

"You're still learning self-defense and you're going to help me with research. You're going to learn the signs of a paranormal activity," he replied. "And you're going to help me with interviews, especially with your abilities to shapeshift. I might need a woman's touch with the more hysterical witnesses since Sammy's in school now. He's the one that usually handled them."

"I - okay." What else is Daniel supposed to say to that? He's not going to jinx himself by asking more questions.

"You're also going to help me with digging up graves and re-burying them," Dean added.

"Okay," Daniel grinned. Dean's not going to make him hunt! He's not going to abandon Daniel or kill him! If he wasn't in love with Dean before, he sure is now.

 _Maybe his kind does have a god and it listened to him and granted this boon because it's a benevolent god._

 **ALK**

Daniel takes it back. His god is not benevolent. Nope. Daniel's god likes to watch him suffer.

It's been two and a half weeks since they arrived in Kauai, and in those two weeks, Daniel's been doing physical training nonstop. He though Dean'd ease him into training since he's so new to it and new to working out. That's a big negatory.

Dean's logic, and Daniel can't fault it (he's tried. So hard), is that the borrowed muscles he has already know what to do, and that Daniel needs to quit fighting those instincts.

The one time Daniel heeded Dean's advice in training, he managed to get a hit in, punching Dean in thigh. Okay, so it wasn't a _great_ or even coordinated hit (he'd been aiming for his stomach), but Daniel did manage to hit him. Just once, mind you. It was enough for Dean to continue lecturing him on ignoring Enver Mathias' reflexes.

At this point, Daniel can give the speech to himself verbatim.

Dean cuffed him upside the head when he caught Daniel mouthing the speech along with him. It made Dean stop for a bit but he only used that time to change up the wording before starting right back in on lecturing Daniel.

Daniel'd wondered if Sam, Dean's younger brother, had to go through this almost constant lecturing or if Dean himself was subjected to the "Do as I say, I know better" speech.

"Hands up!" Dean barked, pulling him from his straying thoughts.

Daniel managed to bring his hands up in time to stop a jab to the face but he was too slow to stop a combo to his left side and now unprotected face. Enver's memories decided to recall the time his trainer did the exact same combo to him when he first starting learning self-defense. That information would have been helpful just a few seconds earlier. Like say before he got a shiner and a bruised rib (he's guessing on that last one).

Dean tsked at him, and Daniel felt his face heat up at disappointing the hunter.

"I'm sorry," Daniel muttered pitifully. "I'll do better."

The hunter shrugged his apology off.

"I know you will. You need to quit letting your mind wander. Next time I won't be so nice and hit you in the fleshy parts," Dean warned him.

Daniel saluted and fell into a fighting stance, successfully dodging and deflecting Dean's furlough of punches and kicks. Dean grinned at him when he was done.

Daniel's smile could have lit up the entire island chain.

"Better," Dean complimented. "Keep this up and we'll do something fun."

Daniel perked up at that. "Like going surfing?" he asked hopefully.

"Maybe."

"And going hiking?"

"That one we'll do next weekend."

"Without training?"

"Of course there'll be training."

"No. I meant, I won't have to do well in training to go hiking?"

"Duh."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Hungry?"

"Always."

"Pizza?"

"No pineapples."

"Done."

Daniel found it hilarious that Dean's so against pineapple being on pizza. Personally, Daniel doesn't mind the fruit - kind of prefers it in all honesty - but he knows that Dean's somewhat of a traditionalist when it comes to food. One would think he'd be a little more adventurous with his eating, you know, with traveling all across the country and everything when hunting. He knows every diner has their own unique flavoring and cooking style.

"We should go out and eat instead of heating one up," Daniel suggested. He'll never get over how beautiful the island is. He wonders what Oahu is like.

"Fine with me," Dean replied without looking up from packing their gear away. He gestured for Daniel to come over so he could unwrap his hands. "There's a place nearby that delivers or do you prefer sitting and eating in a diner?"

"The latter."

"All right." He unwrapped Daniel's hands, checking for any tearing that needed cleaning; found none. "Let's go. The sooner we get back the sooner I can finish working on your credentials."

Daniel ran off in the house to get cleaned up and ready for dinner. He's learned during their time together that Dean's rather grumpy after training and the best thing to do is act instead of waiting to be told something. If he doesn't, Dean'll either lose his patience or he'd disappear somewhere on the island for hours on end. Daniel has no idea where Dean goes, and even followed him a couple times but he lost the hunter within minutes of hitting town.

So far they've been lucky that no one from Dean's old life hasn't seen them. Dean never says anything, nor that he ever will, but a part of him is disappointed that Steve hasn't found him hiding out in Hawaii. All it would take is for them to run a facial recognition program on Dean and they'd find him easy.

He swears the more he learns about Dean, the more confused he gets about the hunter.

Dean wants to move on but he chose Hawaii to hide. He swore to never get attached to someone and yet he's taken Daniel under his wing, a _shapeshifter_ , and he's teaching him how to hunt. He's mad at his little brother and yet he still has tabs on the guy. Dean loves and respects his dad but he's also terrified of him.

Contradiction, thy name is Dean Winchester.

The sound of a bag hitting the wooden floors of their bungalow startled Daniel out of his thoughts. He quickly grabbed his clothes to change into after he showered. He took a Navy shower (that's what Dean calls it. No need to guess where he learned that from) and was dressed before Dean could even work up the effort to yell at him for taking so damn long, despite knowing Daniel showers and gets ready faster than Dean on any given day.

Dean snorted at him when he saw Daniel's hair sticking up left and right.

Daniel flushed and combed his hands through his hair to try and somewhat style it, to look presentable in public. Or at least look decent enough where management won't kick them out for looking like hobos.

Apparently that happened to Dean once back on the mainland.

It was a night of a hunt, Dean and his dad decided to go out for a celebratory breakfast - not stopping at their room to clean the dirt off themselves or change their clothes - and they found a 24-hour diner. Dean and his dad had just barely sat down in a booth when their waiter asked them to leave, and when Dean's dad asked why, it pissed Dean's dad off so much they got escorted off the premises by the local police because Dean's dad was yelling so loud it made the other late night/early morning customers uncomfortable. The cops were cool enough not to throw Dean and his dad in jail for disturbing the peace, they only asked them to clean up next time before going out to eat.

That night had Dean cleaning himself almost religiously after hunts before going out. It's a habit he's drilling into Daniel.

The drive to the diner was uneventful but scenic. Daniel will never get over just how beautiful the island is. It makes him wonder just how Dean left any of the islands to go back to the mainland, ignoring the whole McGarrett situation.

Dean found them a booth at the back, him facing the door, of course. Old habits apparently.

They ordered their meat-lover's pizza (no pineapple, drat) and two cokes. It kind of felt like a date, complete with butterflies and awkwardness (on Daniel's side), and when they were done eating, Dean paid for everything. Again. Daniel really needs to get a job so he could help pay for things and so he could buy things for Dean just because he can.

In all the lives that Daniel's assumed, he never bought anything for anyone. He never used his own money, money that he _earned_ , to buy things for someone he cared about.

"I want to get a job," Daniel blurted out just as the waiter grabbed their dishes. He flushed scarlet as both Dean and the waiter stared at him.

The waiter shared a look with Dean Daniel couldn't decipher and that bugged the crap out of him. He's been with Dean for almost three weeks and he still struggles to figure out the simplest expression the hunter wears, and this _waiter_ can read Dean better than him. That just won't do.

Dean smirked at him when Daniel scowled and shooed the waiter away.

"Don't you give me that look," Daniel warned and wagged his finger at the hunter.

Dean gave him the 'who, me?' look next. Innocence personified. It had Daniel giving himself an internal shake to keep from believing that particular expression. It's so damn convincing. Dean'd've made a great actor. A box office favorite; America's new Golden Boy.

In another life, Daniel'd most likely be Dean's biggest fan.

In another life, Daniel might've lost himself to his kind's impulses and done his best - and most likely succeeded - and killed Dean to assume his image. To feel the love of millions would be unlike any other. It would have been intoxicating . . . and a tremendous loss. Daniel would have never known just how brilliant and kind a man Dean was. His life would have been empty.

A kick to his shins pulled Daniel out of his spiraling thoughts.

"Ow!"

"Get out of your head," Dean ordered. "It's not a safe place for you."

And Dean is right. As always.

"Sorry," he mumbled. Dean waved it off. "Do we have to go back to the house or can we go for a walk or something?" Sue him for wanting to change the subject _and_ explore the island a bit, he doesn't care.

"You go on ahead," Dean told him distractedly, his eyes trained down the dirt road they came in on. Dean's entire body screamed _Alert!_ and it had Daniel on edge. "Go. Now."

Daniel hesitated before doing as told. Dean knows best.

"3 hours."

Daniel nodded and took off. 3 hours until he goes back to the house. 3 hours until Dean deems their new home safe.

"Good luck," he whispered as he disappeared down the shoreline.

 **ALK**

Three hours on the dot, Daniel hid in the treeline that bordered their home. Nothing seemed amiss, but he saw no Dean, and that had Daniel fighting a panic attack. Memories of Enver Mathias pushed to the forefront of his mind, distracting him even more as he fought the memories off. His panic and worry over Dean weakened his defenses against Mathias' memories and instincts.

By the time he fought back against the onslaught of foreign memories, a black two-door car appeared magically in their driveway. He thinks it's a standard issue government vehicle. Cars are not his thing. But the sight of this car has his stomach twisting into knots.

A sense of foreboding washed over him, kicking his flight instincts into overdrive. He should change his image. A female. People are less inclined to shoot a woman on sight than a man.

Just as he reached around to grab his wallet full of pictures out of his back pocket, a black Suburban pulled in alongside the other vehicle. Three people got out: an attractive brunette, two Asians, man and a woman, and they looked dangerous. They screamed cops. Which meant there were two people in the other vehicle, probably already inside the house, and one of those two people is Steve McGarrett, Dean's ex-boyfriend.

The ex-boyfriend who is a Navy SEAL and runs a _government task force_.

Shit.

They found Dean.


	4. Chapter 4

**In my defense, this _was_ done last week but I had been unable to upload it coz the snow and ice started to melt and I didn't want to drive down my muddy ass driveway to go upload it. I really need to see if I can convince my tribe to pave my driveway.**

 **Whatever though, yeah?**

 **Read and enjoy!**

* * *

Call it intuition or whatever, but Dean felt something off as soon as he stepped out of the diner. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up signalling the rest of his body that something's up and that maybe he should send Daniel away from danger. At least until he can assess the situation.

He sent the shapeshifter away, telling him not to return to the bungalow for three hours. Daniel nodded and disappeared down the shoreline.

Dean left their Range Rover in the diner parking lot and took off into the trees to watch the road they came into town in, it's the only road in and out of this place. Every instinct Dean had screamed at him that what has his nerves on edge is going to come from that direction, he felt it to his very bones, and they haven't steered him wrong yet.

He had barely crouched down out of sight when he saw a two black Suburbans that practically shouted government pulled up on either side of his rental.

Not good. Oh, so not good.

 _Please, please, don't be who I think it is,_ Dean pleaded to a hopefully benevolent god.

...Who apparently didn't listen because the five people he dreaded seeing got out of the two Suburbans. They surrounded the rental cautiously, Chin and Kono keeping watch while Steve and Cath went inside to undoubtedly to question the people inside. Danny opened the car door and started snooping around inside.

Panic set in. He couldn't remember if he and Daniel left anything the Detective could find and discover that could identify them as the rental owners of the car. He doesn't want Daniel to get caught in the crossfire between Dean and Steve.

And Danny.

But most importantly, he's not ready to have those conversations with the aforementioned men. He hasn't rehearsed anything. Not really.

Well, at least not something beyond, "Hey," and that just won't fly with either of those two.

Okay, Steve maybe, but Danny? That is one big _hell no_. Danny won't let that fly one bit. He'd make Dean bare his soul and spew word vomit until Danny felt Dean was genuinely sorry for leaving like he did and then he'd patiently wait for Dean to initiate their long delayed conversation that Dean never planned on actually having. And though Danny may be many things, he can be quite patient when he wants to.

Dean's seen the blond do it to Steve often enough the year he lived with Mr. SuperSEAL. He got Steve to spill his guts by not speaking. Steve'd crack and everything that bothered him would spew out and then Danny would carefully dissect every problem/emotion and lay it out for Steve in a more manageable manner.

That man is a wizard in Steve-handling. He's not bad at managing Dean either.

The sound of a the diner bell cheerfully saying goodbye in that ringing way of its kind pulled Dean out of his thoughts and back to wishing he had locked the damn car. That way Danny and the others wouldn't be able to get in said vehicle without probable cause or a warrant. One of the two.

At least Dean thinks. One would think living with, and being friends with, cops would have given him the knowledge of the "other side" of the law. The good side. The "lawful" side. But no. Dean spent most of his time with Steve and the others by playing civilian and best friend and boyfriend, keeping far away from their job and his own unique job. Steve even kept quiet about any case particularly bugging him until it got too much and either he went to Danny himself or Dean called the blond.

All of that on Dean's stupid ass request. My god, he was an idiot back then.

Steve letting out an inarticulate yell and the sound of glass shattering had Dean flattening himself on the ground on instinct. The man sounded pissed and would most likely be looking for a target, meaning he might actually find Dean hiding in the bushes like a great big chicken.

 _Dumbass_ , he berated himself, _f_ _ocus and keep aware of your surroundings. What would dad say?_

That he's an idiot and deserves to get caught by Five-0.

True enough.

He watched as Steve pulled at his kind-of-long hair (he really needs a haircut) and scrubbed his face with both hands. The SEAL shrugged off the others' comforting hands. He pointed at the car and then the diner before pointing towards the road that lead to his and Daniel's bungalow.

Not good.

"I know he's here, Danny," he heard Steve plead with them. He saw Chin and Kono share a look while Cath shook her head, he can see the exhaustion on their faces.

Guilt hit him but he forced it down before it could take hold.

"I swear that was him on the airport monitors. His features may have been altered slightly but I know it was him." Well, that was $300 down the drain. "As for the guy with him, Dean could have hired him because he knew we were looking for one guy not two." Damn you, Steve. "I _know_ he's here. And the tip," he added grudgingly.

Wait. What tip?

"And why would he be here, Steve? He knows we're looking for him," Danny pointed out. "Why would he come back to the one place we have complete jurisdiction? Dean's smart. He wouldn't come back here. As for that tip, I'm still not sure we should trust it."

 _What tip?_

Steve shook his head. "Yes, he would have, Danny. Think about it. We've been looking everywhere on the mainland for him, but the one place we wouldn't have looked is back on the islands. It's a good thing I decided to trust the tip. Dean's here. I know it."

"He does have a point, Danny," Chin admitted. "We never would have thought to look for him here without that tip."

"And," Kono spoke up, "we would still be looking around Boston for him. I think we were getting close and Dean figured this would be the last place we'd look, though in hindsight, we'd probably should have looked here first."

Cath tilted her head at Kono, confused. "Because?"

"Because Dean likes the outdoors," Kono explained simply.

Chin snorted, drawing a grin from Danny, and a huff of amusement from Steve.

"I guess that makes sense," Cath said, not completely convinced. "But why here on this particular island?"

This time Danny answered, seemingly convinced by the others. "Because it's called the 'Garden Isle' and Dean has always liked rainforests. Of course he'd hide out in one." Danny looked annoyed at that and Dean is annoyed they know him so well. "I bet you dinner, one Steve is gonna pay for, of course."

Steve's outraged sputtering went gleefully ignored by Danny who continued speaking.

"Plus, this genius," he points towards Steve accusingly, "got Dean into hiking and kayaking. The waterfalls here would be too tempting for Dean to pass up."

That got them nodding their heads in agreement.

"That, and there's a lot of _haoles_ here that he could blend right in," Steve added with a grin, previous bad mood temporarily forgotten.

"Okay, fine," Cath said. "But who is the guy that came with the man we're assuming is Dean?"

That seemed to stump them. Good. Daniel's safe for the time being.

Steve shook his head. "That guy doesn't matter. Dean does. Can we - Can we just look that way for Dean?" He asked pointing towards the direction of Dean and Daniel's rental property. Shit. "The realtors claimed a property fifteen miles north had been rented out by two men, one of them matching Dean's description."

"And you didn't ask for the copy of the ID Dean used because . . . ?" Danny asked sweetly, a sure sign their Jersey volcano is seconds away from blowing his top.

"She wouldn't give it to us without a warrant, and since Dean technically hasn't done anything wrong, she has every right to protect her clients," Steve pouted. "And she may have let it slip the only recent rental property is found up that road."

Chin rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. "But Dean's using a fake name, ID and most likely a fake birth certificate. And who's this guy Dean's apparently traveling with? Another hunter?"

Steve shook his head. "Dean does't like to hunt with other hunters. Difference of technique when hunting creatures. Dean's been thinking about asking questions first instead of killing. He said he found that killing a creature first tends to bite him in the ass later. Then again, that was before Dean took a year off from hunting. For all we know he's been itching to kill again and forgone that part."

Dean frowned at that. Hey now, he's kept his word on that part. Kind of. Not really. Daniel's been the only creature he's come across since returning to the mainland that he hasn't killed. And that's because Dean got inconveniently horny. Stupid libido.

And he may have forgotten that resolution.

His bad.

Kono thumped Steve on the back. "Then let's go check out that property."

The others agreed and hopped into their cars and drove towards Dean's bungalow. Shit. Daniel.

He checked the time and prayed that they'd do a periphery check and move on before Daniel returned to their house in two hours and forty-five minutes. To protect Daniel, he'd happily give himself up and have those conversations.

Dean waited until they were for sure gone before he got out from behind his hiding place.

"That was a close one," Dean muttered to himself.

"Too close," a deep, familiar voice replied. Dean stiffened in shock, denial warred inside his brain, turning everything around him static-y and blurry.

No. No way.

It can't be.

"I was wondering how long it would have taken them to follow my tip," the (no-it-can't-be) familiar voice. "Took a little too long since I gave it to them a week ago."

Dean turned slowly around to see his dad smirking at him.

"Hi, dad," Dean greeted. The sight his of his dad staring at him shut up the scream of denial in his brain. "How've you been?"

John Winchester indulged his son. "Good. Killed a wendigo, poltergeist, rougarou, and exorcised a demon back Hell. You know, the usual. Before the demon left, it said I better keep watch over my son closely. I immediately thought of Sam, and I'm guessing you did, too," John hypothesized correctly. Dean did think of Sam.

"But Sam was fine. Studying for some test coming up and not a demon in sight. Then I realized the demon was talking about you. Why would a demon tell me I should keep a better watch over my eldest son. The son I thought I trained to be so good I wouldn't have worry about him.

"But nope. I find _three_ demons following my son. I dispatched them," John told his son, seeing his alarmed expression. The thought of those black-eyed sons of bitches following _his son_ ignited a wrath inside him he hadn't felt since the night he found out what killed Mary. _Nothing_ hurts his boys. _Nothing_ follows them and reports back to another goddamn demon their whereabouts.

He wished he knew how to actually _kill_ demons. Any threat to his boys, should be met with extreme prejudice and their death should be slow and painful as possible.

"Then something odd happened," John started with a dark grin that had Dean's adrenaline spiking and his breath picking up. "My son slept with a shapeshifter and brought it with him back to the Hawaiian island chain, to the favored honeymoon spot with couples all around providing perfect cover for my son and his new . . . lover." John's face twisted in disgust and he shot Dean a very disapproving look that had him wilting under the heat of it.

"At least you hadn't slept with that thing since that first night. I probably would have killed it when you left it alone to go get your new IDs made for you and it." He grinned at Dean's shocked expression and answered the unasked question. "Yes, I knew where you were the whole time. _I_ trained you. I know how your mind works, Dean. I just wanted to see if you'd turn yourself in."

"Oh," Dean muttered. He felt foolish for thinking he managed to hide from his dad.

"Get in the truck," his dad ordered.

Dean's body obeyed without hesitation. He dropped his head so his chin rested against his chest. This is bad. This is so very bad. His dad's here in Kauai. So is Steve and Five-0. They're all here and he has a young shapeshifter in his care. Out of all the creatures in the world, Daniel just _had_ to be a shapeshifter, the one creature Steve hates with every fiber of his being, as well as the rest of the task force. No help for Daniel there.

He may have just signed his friend's death.

"Dad," Dean started but stopped at his dad's quelling look.

John drove in the opposite direction of everyone he cared about in the island chain. He fought the urge to look behind him, praying Daniel'll be safe. Praying that Steve would forget him and move on, and that Danny would forgive him for not explaining his actions.

They arrived at a shipyard. Gigantic cargo ships and freighters towered over the water. It dwarfed the shipyard workers, making them look like ants or action men in a children's play set.

He knew better than to ask why they're here. He knows why.

His dad is taking him back to the mainland.

 **ALK**

Steve stared at the small bungalow with something akin to heartbreak. The others kept their distance from him, knowing he needed his space. Even Danny stayed away.

There is obviously two people living here. He could easily pick out Dean's clothes but the other? That must be the good looking man he saw with Dean on the airport tapes. And at car rental depot. Whoever this man is, he must mean a lot to Dean.

Pain lanced through his chest at the thought of Dean loving someone else.

He needed a distraction and looked towards Danny, only to see an odd look on his partner's face. He almost looked . . . wistful. Right. He forgot Danny had feelings for Dean. That's a talk he hadn't worked up the courage to bring up. He has no idea how Danny'd react to that particular conversation. It's not something he thought he'd ever had to have with his partner.

Steve chalked it up to Danny missing his partner in crime. He's the king of denial when he wants to be.

"Danny, you take the Master bedroom while Cath and Chin take the guest rooms. Kono and I will check out the kitchen and living room," he told them. They nodded their assent took off to their respective areas.

Danny hesitated before going inside the master bedroom. He felt a little bad doing that to Danny but rather his partner than him.

Kono took the kitchen, though he thinks it's to find something to snack on since Steve might have not let them have breakfast first before flying out to Kauai following that anonymous tip they got a while back. It was only out of sheer boredom that Steve decided to check it out and he immediately kicked himself for not checking it out sooner. It was their first solid lead into finding Dean.

They'd been coming up empty on their search up until that point.

After checking that the tip was in fact helpful, Steve had Chin check out where the tip came from and from there Chin did his damnedest to find any trace of their anonymous helper. The lieutenant could not find a single pixel of the tipper (tipster?).

"Want some Pringles?" Kono asked, pulling Steve out of his thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"Pringles," Kono repeated. "Want some?" She shook the green tube temptingly.

"Yeah," Steve replied and reached for can. He tipped it over so he could get a sizable stack. "Thanks. You better leave money for a replacement," he told her. Kono waved him off.

Grinning, Steve ate his little snack while he found nothing beyond newspaper clippings and a notebook with handwriting that didn't watch Dean's. Must be the guy Dean's been traveling with. Jealousy made his stomach twist as it burned its way through his veins. He had the real urge to start trashing the place but he knew he'd get an earful from Danny if he did and a very disappointed look from Chin.

It's not often when Danny and Chin both disapprove of something together. Normally, Danny'd rant and yell at him and Chin would laugh at them and did as Steve ordered while Danny lectured the SEAL. Chin usually went along with Steve, trusting his instincts, but there were times when Chin listened to his own and called Steve on his shit, telling him he's wrong.

Danny, Chin and Catherine returned to the living room, saying found nothing to identify who's living with Dean. Chin said he found clothes that did not fit Dean in the guest room he searched.

Steve let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He heard Danny do the same.

Danny held out his hand and Steve panicked, thinking Danny found something small (condoms size, not the - a condom size packet. Whatever.). He shook his hand until Kono passed the tube of Pringles.

Oh. That's what Danny wanted.

Blushing, Steve shoved the last couple of chips into his mouth, ignoring the looks the others were giving him.

"God, you're weird," Danny informed him through a mouthful of chips.

The others echoed their agreement and took some of their share of Pringles. The only sound in the house was them munching on pilfered chips.

Steve's disappointed they hadn't found Dean in the house. Or at the diner. A waitress there told him and Cath that they just missed Dean and his "hot" friend. Also telling them that she hoped Dean's friend isn't dating the man they're looking for. Someone that attractive shouldn't be bogged down by a troublemaker such as Dean.

Cath pulled him out of there before he said something he'd regret.

Danny finished eating his snack first, moving into the kitchen to find some more. The sound of cupboard being opened and closed filled the silence. Steve flopped down onto the somewhat comfortable couch to think.

He has no idea where to look for Dean. They could just wait here but Dean might see their borrowed vehicles and book it. Dean always has a bug-out bag just in case he needs to leave right that second should the cops, on pure luck, find out where Dean is staying at the moment during a hunt.

Most people don't like other people who dig up corpses and burn them or ask bizarre questions about a death that happened. But most of all, most people don't like being lied to.

Steve can identify with that last part.

The smell of something cooking had his stomach growling. He heard answering growls from his teammates.

Danny brought out burgers and a party size bag of chips for them to eat. They wolfed down the burgers in record time and schooled out the big bag of chips within ten minutes. Sufficiently fed, Five-0 allowed themselves to fall into a food coma.

Steve woke up to the sound of footsteps making their way cautiously to the door. He looked towards Danny who's eyes were wide open too. He nodded at Danny and quietly got off the couch while Danny snuck around to the back door of the house. He eased the door open just enough for his body to get through and slid through it, Kono followed.

Chin and Cath eased their weapons out of their holsters and waited for Steve's orders. He gestured for them to remain hidden while Steve met their intruder head on.

Steve ripped the door open, startling a young man enough for him to topple backwards and off the lanai out of sight. Steve blinked, because, really?

A head popped up with wavy light brown hair that was attached to a blue-eyed model. Of course the guy looks like and is built like a model. This must be the guy that's been living with Dean.

Jealousy roared through Steve's veins and he reacted without thinking. He grabbed the guy by the throat and picked him up so he was on the lanai. The guy's eyes bulged and he clawed at Steve's hand.

"Steve!" Danny yelled and peeled Steve's hand off the guy's throat. "Let him go!"

Steve snarled and took a step back before Cath and Kono kicked his ass for doing something incredibly stupid. Chin took his place next to Danny as the detective questioned the young man.

"Who are you?" Danny demanded.

"I'm - I - My name is Daniel," the guy stuttered out. "I live here with my boy - with my friend. Who are you? Where's Dean?"

Steve's eyes narrowed and he bared his teeth when the guy, Daniel, almost called Dean his boyfriend. Daniel paled when he saw the look Steve is sporting. He quickly shifted so he was closer to Chin. Danny turned around to glare at Steve, gesturing for Cath to take Steve inside the house while they talk to Daniel.

Cath nodded and shoved Steve through the door and out of sight.

Steve twisted out of her grip and stepped away from her. He took deep breaths to keep from going back out there and decking the man he's assuming slept or is currently sleeping with his (ex) boyfriend.

"You need to calm your ass down," Cath told him. "i don't care if that guy _may_ have slept with Dean. It's not like Dean cheated on you. You were broken up. Now calm down."

Steve glared at her. He knew she was right, of course, but still.

"He's been living with Dean," he pointed out. Jealousy and hurt ran rampage through his body at the thought of them having sex. "He's been living with Dean," he said again.

Sympathy radiated from Catherine. "I know. Let's just let Danny, Chin and Kono find out who he is and we'll deal with that later. Okay?"

Steve nodded his head.

Steve walked into Dean's bedroom and flopped down on the bed. He rolled over and covered his face with Dean's pillow, inhaling the familiar scent. It calmed him down considerably. To pass the time he started snooping around a little more thoroughly than Danny did.

He tore through the drawers, tossing everything on the floor in his search of anything that reminded Dean of their time together. The longer he went without finding anything the more hurt took over. His heart breaking into smaller and smaller pieces after each search came up empty.

Did Dean not really keep anything of theirs?

Lifting up the mattress and looking under it is his last chance to find something salvageable for any future relationship he might have with Dean, but more importantly, he wanted to find something of theirs that Dean kept as a reminder of their time together. He found a small black leather journal with color coded tabs instead. A part of him wanted to read it but another part was completely terrified to. What if it's just another hunting journal?

 _Then why is it hidden underneath the mattress?_

That - That is a good question.

Steve retrieved the journal and let the mattress fall down onto the floor with a loud thump. He shot a quick look towards the door to see if Catherine was coming to check on him before steeling himself to open the journal.

The first thing he found was a picture of his house on Piikoi and a little paragraph describing the place.

 _Steve's house. It's located on Piikoi Street. Nice neighborhood. He has a private beach access that's very handy when wanting to have some adult fun time._ Steve grinned at that. _It's my first home since my mom died (Save for Baby). I miss it. A lot._

 _I can't go back, no matter how much I want to. What would be the point?_

Steve blinked back tears at the last sentence.

He flipped the page to see pictures of him. One of them is of him mid-argument with Danny over the phone. He has his phone pressed hard against his face as he used his free hand to make gestures to emphasize a point Danny can't even see. He remembered that disagreement. It was over basketball, of all things. They had made a bet over the game and Danny was arguing over the specifics so he wouldn't have to pay the full $100.

He hadn't even realized that Dean took his picture.

Another picture had Steve silhouetted against the sun. He's staring out at the ocean, in deep thought, probably over Wo Fat or a case they were working on. That could have been taken during their first month living together. It had to be otherwise Steve would know when it was taken.

Two more pictures were on the pages. One of him hunched over an engine part, trying in vain to figure out what's wrong with it, and the other was of him sleeping.

 _That_ one he remembered vividly. It was their three month anniversary. Dean made him breakfast in bed, not something he's ever had nor done before. It was sweet and a little weird to be the one on the receiving end of a romantic gesture. Dean had kissed him awake, another first for Steve, and he gave him a single red rose, the single reddest rose he had ever seen in his life.

"Happy anniversary," Dean whispered into his shoulder before kissing it.

Steve remembered not eating their breakfast until much later when it was cold and congealed. It was the best breakfast he'd ever had.

Dean must have taken the picture before waking him up.

There's a single word at the bottom of the page: _Happiness._

Tears welled up and spilled over, Steve made no move to wipe them away. He quickly flipped through the pages to see what else Dean had in them. He found pictures of all of them. There's Danny smiling happily while talking on the phone, presumably to Grace, and another of Danny flipping off Dean.

Some of Chin fanboying over their new smart table and one of him straddling his bike, smiling at the camera. Three of Kono; one of her surfing, at the firing range, and of her helping Kamekona serve food at one of their numerous get-togethers.

A few of Cath and Kamekona. All at Steve's place, save for one of Kamekona who's arguing with Flipper over something.

At the bottom of the pages are single words that pop into Dean's mind when he looks at them. For Chin, it's _Stability._ Kono: _Strength,_ Catherine: _Friendship,_ and Kamekona: _Brother._

He didn't find any pictures of Grace until the very end. Most of them were her smiling at the camera, a few selfies of them cheesing real hard, and one of Grace wrapped around Dean's waist, head pillowed against Dean's chest, and the happiest smile he's ever seen on Grace's face.

The one word he hard for Grace was: _Family._

 _I miss them_ , was written on the last page under a picture of all of them. It's one of the few family photos of the entire _ohana_.

This small leather journal, with barely a hundred pages held everything that Dean missed about them. Dean still cared about them. But he's still staying away from them. If Dean missed them so much then why is he staying away from them? Why hasn't he shown up yet? He _has_ to know they're here by now, and he's most likely hiding out in the forest watching them.

Dean probably sent this Daniel guy in as reconnaissance.

As soon as the thought fully formed, Steve was out the bedroom and making his way to the back door before Cath intercepted him.

"Whoa! Steve, you need to sit down," Cath ordered with a shove that sent him a step backwards. "Danny has some news." She manhandled him into the closest chair, remaining near him should he try to book it.

He knows enough not to push on this. She'd quite happily kick his ass, especially if it meant getting Dean back. Steve sometimes forgot that Catherine and Dean were close and that she misses him just as much as he and Danny does. It makes him wonder just how much she's mad at him for screwing his relationship up with Dean, and when she'll finally lose it and take her anger out on him. It's not like he wouldn't deserve it.

Which brings up Danny's eventual eruption. So far Danny's been pretty supportive in Steve's endeavor to get Dean back.

It's also unnerving because Danny's heart hasn't been in the rants he's been giving Steve for doing something stupid, like giving that one deputy in Lowell County a swirly. Guy really shouldn't have taunted Steve about Dean. He really shouldn't have.

Danny swaggering through the door pulled Steve from his thoughts, thank god, and that Daniel guy followed in on his heels. Steve bit back a growl at the sight of him.

Jealousy right now won't be helpful in finding out where Dean is, and Mr. Model knows where his (ex?) boyfriend is. So, for Dean, he'll shove down any anger and jealousy towards said model until the model gives up Dean's location. Once that is done, Steve plans on planting his fist in Mr. Model's face for even _thinking_ of Dean as "his" boyfriend.

"Knock it off, Steve," Danny groused at him, seeing his gleeful expression at the thought of hurting this Daniel guy. "Daniel here says he hadn't seen Dean for over three hours. Dean, apparently, sent him away because Dean just 'knew'," the skepticism is strong in Danny's voice, "that we were coming."

Steve scoffed and moved to get up to tower and intimidate Mr. Model when Catherine moved closer to him. He sat back with a huff. Spoil sports.

"Liar," he settled to say instead. "I know you know where _my_ boyfriend is."

Mr. Model flinched before glaring back weakly. "I do not, _McGarrett_." He made Steve's last name sound like a cuss word. "Dean sent me away because he . . . sensed you guys coming down the road. He told me not to come back to the house until 3 hours have passed. I waited and here I am."

He shot Steve a defiant look.

Steve sneered back.

The thing is, Steve believes him and that is pissing him off. He wants this guy to be lying so he can be justified in punching his handsome face.

 _Where the hell is Dean?_

 **ALK**

Dean watched the Kauai shoreline disappear beyond the horizon as the cargo ship he and his dad stowed away on. He didn't even get a month there before his dad found him.

"Why'd you let me train Daniel if you knew what he was?" Dean asked his dad.

John Winchester didn't even look at him when he answered, "Because I wanted to see how you'd train that thing." Dean frowned at Daniel being called a thing. "And because I knew whatever you did, that thing will still die by a hunter's hand. You can't beat nature, Dean. That thing is a killer."

"No, he's not!" Dean denied. Daniel's not. He's a good guy (kid?). "He's never killed anyone."

"And you know this how?" John asked mildly.

It made the hairs on Dean's neck stand up. Anytime his dad uses that tone, if Dean doesn't have a good enough reason, it's his hide.

"He told me," Dean admitted, cringing at the weak answer. He thought long and hard and that's all he seriously has.

John hummed thoughtfully. "Laps. Now. You don't stop until I tell you."

Dean swallowed thickly but did as told.

He ran well into the night, earning looks of sympathy from the crew. Who knows who his dad bribed for them to let Dean and his dad on the ship or what his dad did to earn such a favor.

The stairs were killer but he didn't stop or trip over them, no matter how exhausted he got.

John watched Dean do his laps like a good soldier from the shadows. He'll never get over just how proud he is of his son at following orders. Dean'll do whatever he says with only a very slight hesitation, if what he's being asked to go goes against his morals. Granted, Dean doesn't have a lot of those, neither does John, but Dean does stick to the little bit he does have.

"Stop," John ordered, and Dean did. His son's body quaked with exhaustion but he didn't allow himself to fall onto the ground or bend over to catch his breath. He waited at attention until John told him he could relax.

His old DI would have loved to have had Dean as a recruit.

Sadness wrapped it's familiar shroud around him at the thought of Dean not having a future of his choosing. He does have those moments, especially early on, if he was doing the right thing in bringing the boys up in this kind of lifestyle. He had wrestled for months, years even, on this dilemma but the thought of his boys being prey for another demon decided for him.

He rather have his boys hate him than be unprepared for the "real" world of monsters and demons. Who apparently have plans for them. He doesn't know what they are, but he will. Nothing hurts his boys. Nothing. He'd kill anyone and everything if it meant his boys would be safe.

"Rest," he told his eldest son. Dean slumped against a shipping container. He walked over and hauled an arm over his shoulder and helped Dean make his way down to their sleeping quarters.

He opened the door that lead to their room and dropped Dean on the bed with a slight bounce. Dean whined but otherwise didn't complain at the rough treatment. Too tired to do so anyway.

John pulled one of Dean's legs up, propping the foot on his knees. He took Dean's boot off and peeled the sock off before doing the same to the other foot. Dean wriggled his toes at him, making John fight back a grin. He remembered Dean doing this all the time when he was a kid, giggling wildly, happy he was making mommy and daddy laugh. But it was before Mary died. Before The Fire.

Dean fumbled with his belt and unbuttoned his jeans to kick them off, they got stuck midway. John took pity on him and pulled them off. He threw a quilt on top of Dean, fighting the urge to tuck him in like he used to.

Around 4 A.M. Dean woke up with leg cramps. John massaged them away and made him drink some Gatorade he found (stole) and broke off bits of banana (also stolen) to feed to him. It took an hour before the cramps ceased and Dean was able to fall back asleep. John stood watch out of habit.

He let Dean sleep until noon before rousing him out of bed. Dean whined and complained the whole time. It reminded John that Dean was most emphatically not a morning person, or in this case, afternoon person.

Grinning mischievously, John gripped one end of the quilt and pulled with all his might. It sent Dean crashing into the metal wall of their cabin. John winced, not thinking of that possibility. Whoops! He let Dean wear his worn, brown leather jacket as apology. Not that'd he say those words aloud. Not when a gesture does just as good as verbalizing.

He helped Dean up the stairs to the commissary. The crew nodded their heads at them, John nodded back since Dean is currently focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

Dean flopped into a chair and let out a relieved sigh. His legs feel like jell-o. Blue jell-o.

John hopped in line to get him and Dean some food. He made sure to load up on a lot of carbs for Dean and a couple bottles of Gatorade for his son to drink. He grabbed a couple bottles of water as well. Dean needs to stay hydrated. Doing laps is only the beginning.

He should call Adria Linas, a semi-retired hunter he knows living on Kauai. He read about a grave desecration that happened their a couple of months ago, he suspects his boys. The time line matches up with Sam's visit and Dean's abrupt departure of Oahu a few days later.

Speaking of Sam, John pulled out his phone and sent a text saying he has Dean and he's bringing him home.

 _You should check out Kauai or even Oahu. -JW_

Sam'll know what he's talking about. If John can't hurt that Fish Boy, then Sam certainly can. Sam's puppy-like and innocent demeanor makes even the deadliest and cruel demon hesitate for a second. That second allowed Sam to strike and kill or maim whatever it is he's hunting.

 _ **I think I might. -SW**_

Grinning to himself, John urged Dean to hurry up and eat his lunch because he still has some PT to do. He let the grin out when Dean groaned.

"Aw, man, really?" He asked plaintively.

John nodded his head cheerfully. "Oh, yeah."

Dean thumped his head against the table a few times. "I don't wanna," he whined. "I - Is it enough that your're taking me from my home? Taking me from a new friend? From Steve?"

"You _left_ your home. _You_ left Steve. I didn't force you to do any of that," John pointed out, amusement fading. "From what I gathered, your Steve seems like an all right guy. Even if he's Navy," he spat out the last word. Old rivalries linger and linger and linger. "You chose to leave in a fit of anger, like a child."

Dean winced at that. Because, yeah, he did.

"And not to mention, they were _right there_ ," John said, pointing at the other end of the table to emphasize his point of just how close Dean was to them. "You _chose_ to hide from them. That wasn't me. I was actually going to see what you did and followed your lead concerning them. I'm a little disaPpointed I didn't get to meet the man that captured my son's attention."

Dean's head snapped up at that.

"Bu - But - But," he stuttered stupidly. "When I called you that one time, you acted like my being in Oahu was a waste of time by not saying a goddamn word."

"You're a fucking adult, Dean!" John snapped. "If you can't decide to be with someone then maybe you shouldn't be with them! You are not putting that on me."

" _You're the one that indoctrinated me to put family first!_ " Dean yelled. "If it wasn't for you, I'd probably be playing Monopoly with the only family that _never tore me down_. I wouldn't have sabotaged my relationship with Steve. I wouldn't have toyed with Danny's affections. I wouldn't have ruined the one thing that was _MINE_!"

Dean panted after his outburst. His stomach twisted into knots, making him sick at the realization that he just yelled at his dad. He's never done that before. Ever. Not in his 24 years.

His dad's going to kill him. Disown him. He'll make Dean wish he'd never been born.

John stared at his son with an unreadable expression. It didn't make the pterodactyls in his stomach go away, if anything they mutated into Godzilla size flying monsters. No. They're not pterodactyls, they're friggin' Mothra!

He swallowed and prayed for a quick death.

When his dad finally spoke, it was in the iciest voice Dean's ever heard, "If you choose your new family over me and Sammy, then we're done, Dean. The car is mine. You won't contact Sam. You won't step foot back on the mainland."

Tears sprang up but Dean didn't let them fall. His dad's serious. How can his dad tell him that? Then again, this is the man that told Sam that if he stepped out that door, he better not come back.

"I - Why?" He floundered for a second before settling on, "Yes, sir. What are we going to hunt first?" _Bye, Steve. Bye, everyone. I'm sorry._

John nodded his head regally. He knew Dean would choose him and Sam.

"Water sprite in Colorado. Caleb's gonna meet us there." Dean nodded. "200 push-ups and sit-ups," he told Dean, who nodded again.

He moved to help Dean up but Dean shrugged his hands off. He watched Dean move like an old man towards the deck to do his PT. Guilt gnawed his stomach. It felt eerily similar to when he had that last fight with Sammy, before his baby boy left for Stanford without either him or Dean to protect him.

His boys without him to protect them made fear crawl up his spine like fire ants and ice grew in his veins. He needs them back with him. It's the only way he knows they're safe.

He has Dean. He needs Sam next.

It'll be easy to get Sam to come with them once Sam beats the ever loving shit out of this McGarrett guy. His youngest feels immense guilt in his part with ruining Dean's happiness, and guilt can go a long way when manipulated right. It can convince the most recalcitrant person to bend and do as told to ease the feeling away.

More guilt grew at the thought of using his boys' emotions like this but he needs them with him, to know for a fact they're safe. This little experiment of freedom for them is over.

But first, he needs to make a call to Adria Linas. There's a shapeshifter that needs hunting.


	5. Chapter 5

Steve glared at Daniel with real contempt, borderline hatred but he doesn't say or do anything that can be construed as threatening. It would make Danny go off on a rant that he wouldn't hear the end of for the rest of the day. Blabbering all about that if Dean left him behind then it's for a good reason, despite the stupidly good-looking man not giving his last name to them.

Chin's already working on getting a positive ID on the man but so far he's been coming up empty in his search. Even Cath's been pulling strings with some old crewmates to help find out who exactly Daniel is but that might take a while to hear back from.

Daniel for his part, kept to the one training Dean made sure Daniel learned, and that is: Don't tell them anything about him. Lie when confronted with the identity he's currently copying.

It's been aproximately been seven hours since Dean's been . . . let's go with gone, and there hasn't been any signs from Dean in that time. It could mean Dean knows Steve and his government friggin' task force is here and he's waiting for Daniel to get away so they could flee or Dean's genuinely missing, and if that's the case; Daniel'll have no choice but to enlist Dean's ex for help. Dean could kill him later after they found him.

But Daniel'll wait on that until it's been twelve hours, their designated "uh oh" time and then Daniel will officially start freaking out and hyperventilating.

And Steve will be the hero because he's a freaking Navy SEAL and Navy SEALs are always the heroes in reality. Not even if Daniel took on Steve McGarrett's visage, he'd still have a hard time figuring out where Dean might be or, on the long-shot he found Dean, he'd have no idea how to save the hunter. Not even with McGarrett's memories.

That's where muscle memory and instinct come through and stolen memories only get you so far.

Five hours until Daniel can start freaking out. Five hours until he has to tell the scary SEAL his (ex? No, seriously, are they broken up for real or is it taking a break type of thing?) boyfriend is possibly missing and if so, the kidnapper has a twelve hour head start on them. He bets Steve will be real happy with that knowledge. Daniel is so dead. Death by Navy SEAL.

That's going to be so painful.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Someone's watching him. Daniel snuck glances to Five-0 but other than Steve glaring a hole on the side of his head, no one else is looking at him. The feeling feels terrifyingly similar to when he first felt Dean on his trail.

Sweat started to form and his hands started shaking as his heart rate picked up.

There's a hunter here.

He only knows of one other hunter on Kauai but Dean said she's retired and she barely helped Dean out with a ghost a while back. Maybe another hunter moved here? Or an island protector? One of those options has to be true because the alternative is someone from Dean's life is currently hunting him.

The smart option should be to remain with Five-0. He'd rather risk a beating from Mr. SuperSEAL than to be killed by a hunter that knows Dean, and so he chooses that option. No hunter would be stupid enough to come after him with Hawaii's finest surrounding him. At least he doesn't think.

Hunters, he's gathering, are a dangerous and weird breed. This hunter might just snipe him out with a goddamn long distance rifle.

Wait. Does this hunter _know_ he's a shapeshifter? Maybe they just know he's different and are waiting to see what he is exactly before trying to kill him. He's going to have to attach himself like a burr to McGarrett.

 _That's_ going to be fun.

The man already looks at him like he's worse than sewer sludge. He's going to _love_ having Daniel follow him around like an annoying gnat buzzing around him.

He knows for a fact telling McGarrett and his team he's a shapeshifter would be the dumbest thing he could ever do, especially when he has a hunter on his trail. Dean told him about Five-0's encounter with a shapeshifter last year, they'd sooner kill him than protect, and without Dean to vouch for him, he's dead either way.

 _Where is Dean?_

McGarrett moving towards him had Daniel scrambling back and crashing into the attractive Asian with the killer cheekbones. The man steadied him and shot McGarrett a reproachful look.

"Do you have any idea where Dean is?" McGarrett demanded, seeming to grow to the size of a frost giant as he loomed over Daniel.

Daniel shook his head frantically. "N-No! I - I - I don't," he stuttered out, panicked. McGarrett is _scary_. "I swear. He's - He said he'd meet me in three hours but that was four hours ago, and I'm supposed to start really freaking out in about five more hours."

He slapped his hands over his mouth, horrified. _Doh!_

Stupid, stupid, stupid...he chastised himself. He's not supposed to say anything.

McGarrett's eyes narrowed while the area around them grew still. Daniel could feel everyone looking at him, er, more like glaring at him. He really should have kept his mouth shut. When Dean finds out, he's going to make Daniel do PT for three months, and then he'll make Daniel help him take out the next monster they come across. He'd have a more active role next time with the murder of his kin. Regardless of them deserving a hunter's righteous fury.

"Can we - Can we take this inside?" Daniel asked, eyes trained on the forest line. They're out there. He could practically feel the crosshairs trained on him.

"Why?" McGarrett demanded as he loomed impossibly bigger. Daniel flicked his gaze to the other members of Five-0 but found them glaring at him suspiciously. Oh, great. "Why should we move inside?"

"Because I don't want to die," Daniel blurted out.

Detective Williams jerked back while the others moved forward, as if to press him for more answers but the sharpness of the Detective's voice pulled the others back like marionettes. Well, that's new. Daniel had been under the assumption that McGarrett was the de facto leader from the few stories Dean told him.

Daniel locked eyes with the detective, trying to convey that he'll only talk when they're safe inside the house with four walls protecting him from the unknown hunter. Well, he didn't convey that last part exactly but the implication was there.

Danny sighed and gestured for everyone to head inside. Daniel ran in ahead of them, making sure to keep McGarrett's giant frame directly behind him to cut off any potential shots the hunter might take. He'd rather McGarrett get shot instead of him. A silver bullet won't kill McGarrett but he might get metal poisoning if not treated immediately.

Five-0 surrounded him in his living room, it made Daniel let out a sigh of relief, and he sent out a prayer of thanks to Enver Mathias for being kind of short. His smaller stature kept him safe for now.

"Explain. Now." Detective Williams crossed his arms, making him possibly more intimidating than McGarrett despite being so much shorter. He's terrified to look at the others. What if they're scarier or just as scary as McGarrett, and, apparently Williams as well. He might have actually been safer outside with a hunter than being in his and Dean's living room with pissed off government cops, especially when the leader is quite possibly emotionally compromised.

Okay, he _is_ emotionally compromised. Not that Daniel could blame him. If he had lost Dean, he too would move heaven and earth to get him back.

"Explain what?" he asked, playing dumb. A growl had Daniel hunching in on himself defensively. "All right, all right. Give me a minute."

 _Shitshitshitshitshit._ What's he going to do? If he tells them he's a shapeshifter, they'll kill him.

"I - I, uh, I..." Daniel dithered. _**S-H-I-T**_. He even wrung his hands like a little old lady. Coincidentally, he was a little old lady when he was a teenager, but that's beside the point. Free food and a free place to stay. One of the best times of his short life. Until he met Dean, that is.

The black cloud that is McGarrett moved closer, and Daniel found himself matching him step for step. They were toe to toe with barely an inch between them.

Daniel's really praying they can't hear his knees knocking together.

A squeak of fear escaped before Daniel could stop it when McGarrett gripped by the throat and lifted him up with one hand. _Holy shit!_ McGarrett is _strong_. He kicked ineffectually at McGarrett's shins as spots started to appear in the corner of his eyes.

"Steve! Put. Him. Down."

Daniel dropped like a sack of potatoes and gasped like a fish out of water. He massaged his throat as he encouraged his lungs that it's okay to breathe now. The spots disappeared as his lungs finally started doing their job and brought oxygen to the rest of his body, and he flopped flat on his back, thinking it would help him catch his breath faster.

It didn't, but he was too exhausted to move.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He heard the man with the amazing cheekbones hiss in anger. He heard the women mutter in agreement. Maybe they'll forget he's here and he'll sneak out the back. He needs to get far, far away.

Moving so he was sitting up was a slow process, and when he opened his eyes, he found Detective Williams glaring at him. He had placed himself between Daniel and the back door.

Damn.

"Hi," he said weakly, wilting at the unamused raised eyebrow.

"Care to tell us why you need to freak out in five hours?" Detective Williams questioned mildly. He has a feeling that's a bad tone, judging by the sudden hush from the others. It honestly sounds like a dad's voice, one who is about to blow their top but is waiting for you to dig yourself deeper in the hole just so they could yell at you about that, too.

At least he wasn't asking about why Daniel wanted to come inside.

"It's our designated 'Uh oh' time," Daniel answered meekly. He saw Detective Williams raise the other eyebrow in confusion. "If we don't get in contact with each other in twelve hours, assume the other is in danger and/or captured," he explained softly.

The hostility and rage radiating from McGarrett is genuinely terrifying.

Honestly, at this point? He'd rather have the unknown hunter.

"Fuck this!" McGarrett snarled and he grabbed Daniel arm and hauled him up to his feet so he could cuff Daniel. "We're going back to Oahu and getting some answers out of him." He glared at the others, daring them to stop him. They didn't. Not even Detective Williams, who Daniel thought would raise a fuss on Dean's behalf.

McGarrett practically frog marched Daniel out the front door only to stop when they found an older woman with greying blonde hair decked out in black combat boots, worn, ripped jeans, a black shirt with a red flannel over it. The double barrel shot gun aimed right at Daniel.

Oh. Not good.

"Silver bullets," the huntress informed them with a dark grin. "Guess who they're for."

 **ALK**

Steve had to admire the woman. She had five guns on her trained on her yet she's completely unphased, her own gun aimed right at Mr. Model, who paled at her words. He tried to scramble backwards to put himself behind Kono but the woman merely shifted her position to keep him in her sights, but also taking care to make sure Kono wasn't in her way.

Danny manuevered himself so Mr. Model couldn't use Kono as a human shield. The guy whimpered before hanging his head when discovered he couldn't hide himself.

"Who told you?" Mr. Model asked in a defeated tone.

"A concerned father."

Steve didn't think it was possible, but Mr. Model paled even more.

"How'd he -?"

"Don't know, don't care. I'm just here to do a job."

"I thought you were retired."

Steve exchanged a look with Danny. Mr. Model seemed to know a lot about the woman.

"How'd you know?"

"Dean."

"Ah."

"Yeah."

"Ready?"

"No, but I don't think that matters to you."

The woman grinned. "Nope." She thumbed the safety off the shotgun, ignoring Five-0's tensed stances. "He's a shapeshifter," she informed them. "And I have permission by someone you people deem important to kill him."

Steve holstered his weapon at once. The others following slowly, except for Danny. He kept his gun trained on the apparent hunter.

"You shoot him, and I promise you I will make the rest of your life hell," Danny ordered in an icy voice.

"Danny," Steve started but Danny cut him off and practically shouted at them, "He was sleeping in the house with _Dean!_ Know what that means, huh?" They kept quiet. "That means Dean knew what he was and didn't _care_. You're not killing him," he directed at the hunter. "I don't care if Dean himself told you to hunt him. He's under Five-0 protection, under _my_ protection."

The hunter sneered at him, her voice cool when she replied with, "For now. He's under your protection - for now."

She stepped back into the forest and disappeared into the shadows.

"That -," Kono started but stopped.

"-Was cool," Cath finished for her.

"And scary," Chin added.

Steve snarled before rounding on Danny.

"Why the hell are you protecting that ... _thing_ ," he demanded of his insane partner. "He's a," his voice practically dripped with disgust and hatred, " _shapeshifter_. There is no way Dean would be protecting that thing."

Danny glared back and stood protectively in front of that ... _thing_. Steve felt betrayal start to build deep within his chest and branch out throughout the rest of his body.

"Because _Dean_ protected him, and apparently teaching him how to hunt, you dumbass," Danny shot back. " _Dean_ sent him away when he saw that we were getting close to finding them. _Dean_ wanted to keep him safe. _That's_ why I'm protecting him, Steven."

The betrayal bubbled over and Steve let out an inarticulate yell of rage and slammed his fist into that _Thing's_ face. He heard bone breaking and blood spurted from the now broken nose, it had Steve grinning ferally.

"For fuck's sake, Steve!" Danny yelled and gave him a powerful shove away from the shapeshifter.

Steve stumbled back several steps. He made to move forward again, determined to get one more good hit in but Chin came out of nowhere and pinned his arms. It took everything in Steve not to react on instinct and break out of the hold and accidentally hurt Chin. Catherine and Kono quickly flanked him, while Danny quickly took care of that thing's nose.

With a snarl, Steve shook Chin off and stalked off to the treeline. He found the hunter smirking at him. He blinked. He never even noticed her or felt her presence.

A shiver of unease slid down his spine.

Is this one of Dean's numerous talents? Did Dean not use this particular talent so it wouldn't freak him out? Steve wouldn't put it past his boyfriend. Dean _did_ give up hunting for a whole year for him.

The hunter looked at him in sympathy when pain flickered across his face at the thought of Dean. She held her finger up to her lips, winked at him, and faded into the forest like a wraith.

Creepy yet awesome.

He looked around hoping to find a trace of her but couldn't even find a damn footprint in the fairly damp soil. He did find a note though.

A quick glance behind him to make sure he wasn't being watched, Steve quickly leaned down and picked up the note and pocketed it. He turned around to see Chin staring at him curiously. Steve shook his head and remained where he was.

Danny's ire kept him from saying anything. As long as Danny temporarily forget he was here, Steve could keep from lambasted from the verbose man who wielded words like sharpened swords.

That and Steve's honestly afraid he'd spill Danny's secret crush on Dean because he so angry right now. He'd love nothing more to see that shocked look on Danny's face and the embarrassment and shame of having feelings for his best friend's boyfriend. He's that angry at Danny. He'd love nothing more than to feel that vindictive pleasure of making Danny feel the hurt he does right now.

It's not the same but he really doesn't care. He just wants Danny to feel the sting of betrayal like he does.

Chin and Kono came to get him, escorting him really, to one of the Surburbans while Danny and Cath got that Thing in the other. Chin drove while Kono sat with him in the back. He has no idea why they think they need to keep a close eye on him. Both Dann and that Thing are in the car ahead of them.

"How we getting home?" Steve asked idly.

The cousins shared a look.

"Danny and Catherine are taking Daniel on the first flight over while we catch the next one," Chin answered.

"And do you guys agree with Danny about that ...Thing?"

Another look.

"I don't know, Steve," Kono replied softly. "But what if he's right and Dean was protecting it?"

Steve sneered. "Then why did that hunter say Dean gave her permission to kill it?"

That seemed to stump them but then Chin asked, "How do we know it was Dean that gave permission? She only said 'Someone we all deem important', and that can mean anyone Dean trusts or considers family, and not just Dean himself."

"Then who would know that Thing is a shapeshifter? Sam is at school, as far as I know, and Dean's been on the outs with his dad."

Chin shrugged at him while Kono frowned in thought.

"Maybe it really was Sam who informed the hunter of a shapeshifter on the island," Kono offered. "Remember Dean and Sam came to Kauai to hunt a ghost, maybe she was their contact, and Sam figured out Dean's here with a shapeshifter."

Makes somewhat sense but not enough.

"But if Sam knew about the shapeshifter, then why didn't he ask us to kill it? Why would he ask a retired hunter to kill it?" asked Steve.

"Because the last and only time we went against a shapeshifter, we got our asses kicked. Maybe Sam thought we couldn't handle it," Chin offered. "And maybe he wanted to punish you by letting you find out about the shapeshifter living with Dean, and quite possibly having a relationship with the creature. He _would_ blame you for Dean taking off like he did."

Steve deflated at that. It sounds like something Sam would do. That kid can hold a mean grudge, especially when it concerns his surrogate father. Those two are so co-dependent, it's a little scary.

"And what do you think about Danny's reactions to that thing?"

They shared another look. That is seriously starting to piss him off.

"I - We," Chin corrected, "think that Danny has his reasons for protecting Daniel."

That is so diplomatic, Steve wants to hurl. He clenched his hands into fists as they shook with suppressed rage. Kono saw and caught Chin's eye, tilting her head at their C.O..

"All right, Steve," Chin started, he pulled the car over on the side of the road, waving the other car on. Danny waved back since Catherine is driving. "What is wrong? You've been . . . good so far. Not as angry as you are now. Sad, yes, but nowhere near as..." he trailed off, unable to think of a suitable adjective.

Luckily, Kono had his back. "Ballistic."

Chin nodded a thanks at her and picked his train of thought. "What she said. Now, care to explain the sudden violence? It can't just be because of Daniel being a shapeshifter or the possibility of him sleeping with Dean."

Steve grit his teeth, and he thinks he heard one of them crack from the pressure.

"You just proved his point," Kono pointed out with glee. Steve glared at her but she brushed it off. He's been working way too long with them if his glare didn't even phase her.

"I did not," Steve shot back.

"You did. In a way."

"Then I didn't prove anything."

"How do you figure?" Chin chimed in from the front.

"Because doing something 'in a way' is not actually doing something," explained an increasingly annoyed Steve. "I've learned that from Mary . . . and Danny." He felt his lips curl back into a snarl at Danny's name, it didn't go unnoticed by the cousins.

A worried exchange of facial expressions too fast for Steve to keep up with, and an even faster argument that Kono lost happened within milliseconds of Steve's last statement. He's a little impressed by that.

"What's your deal with Danny, Steve?" Kono asked, keeping her gazed fixed on his face. "You can't just be mad at him for protecting Daniel."

Steve's entire body went rigid and his expression shuttered.

"Nothing."

"Steve."

"I said there's nothing. Now drop it." The steel in his voice told them he's done talking about it.

And they did. Chin and Kono exchanged another worried glance but kept their silence. Chin turned the vehicle back onto the road and drove to the air field for their ride back to Oahu. Both of them praying Danny and Catherine got the shapeshifter onto their plane because they don't think they could keep Steve from beating the shit out of the creature, or Danny for that matter. They don't know what's going on with them but it's new, and they don't like it.

Steve and Danny fought before, of course they have, but they've never seen Steve this pissed off before.

God, they need to find Dean, and fast. They have a feeling Dean'd know what's wrong with them. He'd get them to talk and he'd fix everything wrong with the team. It's a juvenile hope but it's all they have at the moment:

Find Dean and everything will be better.


	6. Chapter 6

Dean and his dad are still not talking. It's a record for Dean because he usually caves right after fighting with his dad and apologizes even if he wasn't at fault. He doesn't like it when his dad's mad at him, hasn't since he almost cost Sam his life by being selfish, but this time he's not giving in. His dad's going to be the one who apologizes.

So, Dean's resigned himself to never speaking to his dad again. The earth would sooner spin backwards than John Winchester would ever utter any words that related to him being contrite or remorseful.

Where's Superman when you need him? Dean needs to ask a favor of the Last Son of Krypton. Or his cousin. Or even Zod. Hell, he'd ask Krypto, the damned super dog. He just needs one favor from them. They're heroes, save for Zod, there's no way they'd say no, right? All he needs is a miracle and since he believes God isn't real, he's more than willing to believe in aliens to make the impossible happen.

The ship pitched sickeningly to the left and it had Dean fighting to keep his breakfast down. Leave it to dad to book a trip without checking the weather first. It's Maine all over again.

When Sam was barely a teenager, Dad took them there in the dead of winter. First it would rain, then the rain would cool, and then it snowed for days and days and days. It was a miserable time for them. Having Sam and Dad cooped up in the same cabin was a hell Dean would never ever, _ever_ do again. He'd rather risk frostbite walking to town that's twelve miles away than deal with those two hot heads for any time longer than a day.

The ship dipped so much Dean felt like he was on one of those carnival rides that has you walking on the ceiling, where everything is topsy-turvy and is just not right. That's what it feels like on the ship.

His dad is unbothered, of course. Guy was a Marine. This is probably a cake walk for him, bringing back good memories or something. Dean? He'd give anything to be on dry land right now.

The door opened, almost hitting Dean in the face when he pitched forward with the ship. Instead, he clipped it with his shoulder hard enough to leave a long ass bruise there that'll take a while to heal, which is bad because his dad has them going after a water sprite in Colorado.

His dad staggered into the room, hanging on the door to keep from being thrown either into the wall or onto the ceiling when the ship rocked back like a damn horse rearing, Dean's half tempted to yell out, "High ho, Silver!" but he thinks his dad wouldn't be amused. Tough shit. Dean's not in the mood to placate him. This is a silent war, dammit, and he has every intention of winning.

John pointed at Dean and crooked his finger to follow him. Dean's debates about ignoring him but it might be important, important enough for him to forego their silent war.

But not yet.

Dean glared at his dad and his dad glared right back. Dean's gonna win this one, he has more practice at being patient than his dad does.

3...2...1...

His dad huffed in annoyance. He teetered toward him and grabbed Dean by the arm and dragged him back through the door, up two levels, down a hallway, and up another flight of stairs to a hatch that led into the control room. Dean quirked an eyebrow at his dad, impressed. They don't have to go outside to reach the control room. Nice.

"Ah, Mr. Winchester, and son," the captain greeted them once they squeezed through the hatch. "I want you two here just in case the weather turns any worse."

His dad nodded while Dean gripped a control console tightly to keep from being sent crashing into the big ass window in front of them. He dry heaved and wished he was back on Oahu, pretending he never left or had that talk with Steve, at Sam's urging. He'd be home right now snuggled up against Steve with Danny and Grace over watching movies and having popcorn shared between them like they always do during movie night.

The entire ship shook so violently, Dean felt his bones rattle like he was on a vibrating bed the size of Alaska.

"I wanna go home," Dean moaned pitifully as his stomach threatened to revolt. The captain laughed while his dad's expression turned thunderous, face darker than the clouds outside. More foreboding than any portent Dean could ever imagine or come across, even if he lived to be a 100.

Dean's wish for home grew stronger as the ship seemed to go under for a terrifying second. He swore he saw a startled whale stare at them in astonishment when the water went over them.

His feet left the deck and a scream tore out of his throat. "Dad!"

The ship dropped like a stone and another scream escaped and he was sent forward towards the front window but a strong pair of arms wrapped themselves around his waist, pulling him close when another wave hit. His dad pinned him against the wall, body braced so Dean wouldn't go flying out the window to actually swim with the fishes.

He crashed into his dad numerous times but he never felt safer.

Dean closed his eyes hugged his dad tightly, knowing his dad wouldn't let anything happen to him. The sound of his dad's heart beating steady acted like a lullaby for Dean and he found himself in a light doze, the noise outside settled into a hum that Dean could pretend was the Impala's engine, and every pitch and list was the road with all its nuances.

His dad's hand behind his head kept him from slamming back into the metal wall hard enough to break his head open like an egg. But it was his dad's steady heartbeat that soothed Dean's screaming nerves.

A particularly strong wave crashing into the window cracked it hard enough for it to spiderweb all across the front window bad enough to obscure their view. Dean let out a wail of terror, clinging tighter to his dad, who immediately started soothing him.

It brought back memories of a time when his dad was actually a dad and not a drill sergeant. He had a nightmare about a man with white eyes, no pupils, reaching out for him, blood dripping from its sharpened teeth. He screamed so loud he woke himself up and his parents. His dad was the first one through the door because his mom was pregnant with Sammy and couldn't move very fast, and Dean had launched himself into his dad's arms, seeking protection.

His dad brought him to their bed and he slept cuddled between them, safe from any monsters or nightmares for the rest of the night.

"Can we fly next time?" Dean asked, voice muffled, but he felt his dad's chest rumble with laughter.

"How about next time I check the weather before calling in a favor?" his dad suggested instead, aware of Dean's fear of flying. He hugged Dean tighter against his chest, pressing a kiss atop his son's head. "You'll be fine," he whispered. "The storm's starting to lighten up. That's why it's getting so bad. The storms about to break."

Dean responded by tightening his grip. He hasn't been this scared in a long, long time. It's the only reason Dean could think of why his dad's being so nice and dad-like to him.

"Just a few minutes more," his dad assured him.

And his dad was right, the storm still raged on, but it wasn't as turbulent as before. The sky lightened but still remained cloudy with light rain gently hitting the roof of the control room. The sound is almost musical, like piano chords being played expertly to bring to mind nostalgia.

"Well, that was certainly one of the worst storms I've been through," the captain admitted. He smiled at Dean kindly but Dean ended up burying his head into his dad's chest because that little bit of information did _not_ calm him down at all.

His dad chuckled and untangled himself from Dean's limpet-like arms. He gave Dean a quick pat on the head before going outside to check for damage with the First Mate.

Dean felt a little abandoned by his dad but he slapped on a smile and shrugged sheepishly at the captain.

"Sorry for my freak out," Dean mumbled in embarrassment. He can't believe he screamed like a little kid for his daddy, and the captain saw the whole thing. Not his best moment, and now his dad knows just how much of a pussy he is. _And_ he spoke first. His dad won their War of Silence. Great. Just great.

"Nothing to be sorry for, boy," the captain said with a hard voice, not liking how ashamed Dean is for a natural reaction to fear. "I was a half a second from screaming my head off too, especially when we went under that massive wave. Thought we were goners there for a second. Poseidon favored us and kept us from losing the engine or steering."

Dean's smile dropped and he looked down with a shudder.

"Fear is nothing to be ashamed of. It keeps you alive and it keeps you vigilant. Trying to be brave when you shouldn't is a death sentence, remember that," the captain told Dean. He waited for Dean to look up to make his point before giving him a kind smile. Dean's answering smile was genuine. "How about you go check your room out to see if anything is broken."

"In other words, go away," Dean replied with a grin.

The captain shooed him away but slipped his captain's hat on Dean's head when he moved passed him. Dean couldn't help the boyish grin when the captain tapped the brim of the hat so it fell over his eyes. The little boy in him, the one he keeps jealousy protected, couldn't be happier with the little act of kindness.

"Thanks!"

The captain waved at Dean, smiling widely at the child-like enthusiasm. He has a feeling the boy never really had a childhood

He has a genuine captain's hat! Dean thought happily.

 **ALK**

John had to get away from Dean but he didn't want Dean to think he's running away from him. His hands were shaking violently and his heart rate finally beat as fast as it wanted to since it no longer had to remain steady and calm for his son.

When Dean screamed his name in terror, paternal instincts took over and he found Dean safely in his arms without him even being aware of moving in the first place. He cradled his son close to his chest, wedging a hand between Dean's head and the metal wall behind him to keep him from getting a concussion or worse.

Dean clinging to him for safety brought back memories of a happier time. He may have relished in having his son come to him for protection just a little bit. His oldest hasn't done that since Mary died.

But as soon as the moment passed, John had to get away or he'd apologize and send Dean back to Hawaii with McGarrett. He can't have that. McGarrett has proven that he cannot be trusted with his son or his son's heart, and if it was up to him, John'd go back to Hawaii and beat the ever loving crap out of that stupid Frog Man.

He needs to make a phone call anyway. Adria Linas hasn't called yet to confirm the death of the shapeshifter. If it was anyone else, he'd be worried, but he's heard good things about Linas, of her being quite competent.

Then again, she's been retired for almost a decade.

John dialed Linas's and waited for her to pick up.

 _"What?"_

John grinned. "It's John Winchester."

" _I repeat: What?"_

"You kill that thing yet?"

" _No."_

"Why not?"

" _Because your boy's boyfriend showed up and the tiny blond stopped me."_

Shit. "Well, fuck."

Linas gave a throaty chuckle over the line. _"The boyfriend was more than happy to let me kill it but the tiny blond fought and said your boy would want it alive. They took it back to Oahu. You're on your own, Winchester."_ John swore and went to hang up but Linas stopped him. _"Don't tell your boy I was gonna kill his pet. I like him."_

"I won't," John promised distractedly.

" _Besides, I have a feeling your boy's pet will soon be taken care of. The boyfriend might just take of it for us."_

Now that's a bit of good news. Maybe McGarrett might be worthy of his son after all.

John hung up before he could voice the thought.

No, if Steve McGarrett really was worthy of Dean, he'd be coming to find him. Unlike Dean, who - even though he would never admit it - left a trail a mile long for the SEAL to come find him, and John has no intention of having Frog Man track them down. No. He already blew his chance with his son. McGarrett doesn't get a second chance.

No one gets a second chance with his boys. No one. Except for him. He gets unlimited chances concerning his boys and their ever bottomless wells of forgiveness. But no one else.

"Dad?" He heard Dean call his name hesitantly, echoes of a scared little boy still lingering in his voice. The protective instincts he had just managed to calm down fired back up at the tone, and he found himself making his way to Dean, the urge to make sure he's safe and okay, is overwhelming. An instinct so ancient and so inherent, John had no way, nor the desire, to fight it.

"I'm here," John told him. "I'm coming."

He rounded the corner to see Dean leaning against the far wall, the captain's hat atop his head, and his face still too pale for John's liking. The smile Dean sent him though, it felt like seeing the sun for the first time in months.

"Hey," John said softly. He stopped just shy of Dean, unsure how his son's feeling at the moment. Dean threw himself into John's arms, adrenaline making his body shake like a leaf in the wind.

"It's okay," John soothed. "It's over. We're fine. You're fine."

He relished in it for as long as Dean'll let him. Once Dean collected himself, he'd pull away and pretend nothing happened. But until then, he's going to enjoy this rare moment.

Dean sniffled. "I want to go _home_."

John's heart squeezed and his chest hurt. He knows Dean isn't talking about the Impala or even Lawrence, he's talking about McGarrett and his life on that damnedable island. He also knows that if Dean had the power, he'd make John and Sam move to Oahu with him and McGarrett, and they'd live happily ever after forever and ever.

Who knew his oldest was the real dreamer and not Sammy like he thought.

Mary'd've love that. She'd've loved to move to Hawaii, it was one of her favorite fantasies to have while they worked hard to keep the roof over their heads. She used to wax poetry over the relaxed island life movies and TV shows like to film and show everyone.

"We are going home," John told him. "Pastor Jim said we could crash at his place for a while. How's that sound? That'll be home for a while. We'll even cajole Sam into joining us once school gets out."

Dean shook his head but didn't say anything just like John knew he would.

"We'll be home in a few days," he promised his oldest. "How about we go check out our room? I want to make sure none of weapons got damaged from the storm."

"Okay," Dean muttered and detached himself from John.

He did not think that through. He rather liked holding his son. The moment lasted longer than John thought it would though.

John lead the way to their room and they found it completely trashed. A quick check of their weapons showed only nicks but nothing damaging that could mess with the firing of the guns, and their knives and books were relatively okay. So, all in all, it wasn't that bad.

Dean shuddered at the remembered feeling of the ship dropping like a stone and his feet left the ground.

A gentle touch to his shoulder had Dean jerking back on instinct, only to find his dad staring at him with worried eyes. Now, he has two options: he could either pretend like nothing happened or he could do something very uncharacteristic like seeking comfort from his very stoic and manly father who likes to think showing any kind of concern or softness is weak. He might also think very lowly of Dean if he did want to be comforted by his dad.

"Dean," his dad started, expression unsure before solidifying into hardness. "Clean the room up. I'm going to check on the others."

Whiplash, that's what Dean's feeling. Emotional whiplash.

"I bet if I was Sam, you'd stay," Dean muttered to himself but John overheard, and froze before he closed the door behind him.

"I bet if I was Sam, you'd man the hell up and do as your told," John countered icily. Guilt swamped him yet again but he refused to look at Dean and see the damage he just inflicted upon his son. It was uncalled for. He'll be damned if he'll admit though.

"Yes, sir," came the dull reply.

John fought the paternal instinct to make things right between them, the father in him, the one buried deep inside, screamed at John for hurting Dean and for being such an asshole towards him. Dean always does as he's told, but ever since he went to Hawaii on that hunt, and consequently moved there, Dean's been standing up for himself; standing up against John for the way he treats him. Sam, too.

Is it such a bad thing for his son to grow up enough and not need John anymore to guide him?

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, an internal battle taken place in his mind. He closed the door behind him without looking at Dean.

 _I'm sorry._

Self-loathing, his old friend, made its presence known as John felt his heart get weighed down by his decision.

 _I'm so sorry, Dean._

Clearing his throat, John pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Sam.

 _"Dad! Is Dean okay? Did you get him? Is he coming home?"_

John swallowed thickly around the lump that appeared at his youngest's questions.

"Yeah. Yeah, I got him," John replied in a hard voice. Can't let Sam know just how much they're both hurting. "I need a favor, Sammy," he said and waited for Sam's reply.

 _"What - What do you need? Is it for Dean?"_

"It's for Dean." Forgive me, son. "It's about McGarrett."

Mary would hate him for this. Hell, she would have hated him for dragging their boys into this mess. What's one more reason for her to hate him?

"He hurt him, Sam. He hurt Dean. He caught up to Dean and basically kicked him off the island, telling him to never come back. I found him at a rental property on Kauai nursing his broken heart. I tried to go after him and teach him a lesson, but Dean stopped me. You know how he is," John said, he grabbed on to the handrail and gripped it tight to keep his emotions in check.

"Dean won't let me get revenge, but since he thinks you're in Stanford far away..." he trailed off hoping Sam'd fill in the blanks all on his own.

Five minutes pass before, _"I'll do it."_

The hardness, the anger, in Sam's voice is what John had been hoping for. A pissed off, protective Sam is a dangerous creature that doesn't stop until he gets vengeance on whatever it is that hurt Dean. John should know, he's been on the receiving end for years. It'd be a nice change to see all that protective rage be used on someone else. McGarrett doesn't stand a chance. No amount of SEAL training will save him from Sam, not when it has to do with Dean. Sam is single-minded and relentless, and he's brutal.

"He's back on Oahu. I'd get here quick, Sam, the man also has a shapeshifter on his pay roll," he advised his youngest. Sam hung up and John knew he's already on his way.

John laid his head back on the cold, metal wall. It's eerily reminiscent of how his heart feels at the moment: cold and unfeeling.

Unyielding.

 _I'm so sorry, boys._


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry! SorrySorrySorrySorrySorry! I am so, so sorry. I've been busy with other things and hadn't had the desire to write lately but I'm trying to back into it. Taking a while but I am trying.**

* * *

Daniel wrapped his arms around his knees as he listened to Five-0 talk about their latest case from the safety of Danny's office. He's not allowed out of the blond's office when he's at work and Daniel's not allowed to go anywhere on his own, just in case he had the urge to change his visage and take off after Dean, or so McGarrett says. And to be honest, that's exactly what he'd've done. Being with Dean meant safety, stability. He misses that. But he has no idea where Dean is. So he's stuck with Danny until he figures out what to do next.

He's sitting on the couch in Danny's office, facing the door just like Dean taught him, praying they'd take a break soon because the amount of growling his stomach is making, McGarret'd think he changed shape. Which would be inaccurate. He can change his body into other humans, he can't change into animals. That's an entirely different species called Skinwalkers, and they're scary mofos.

Very territorial.

The sound of Danny's office door opening had Daniel shrinking as small as Mathias Envers' body can be, which isn't very much. Dude's got some muscle mass that speaks of many hours in a gym.

A girl who looked vaguely familiar poked her head into Danny's office. She blinked in surprise when she saw Daniel huddled on the couch. They stared at each other unsure what to make of the other, when the girl decided to break the impasse and stride forward with a confidence Daniel wished he could emulate.

"Hi," the girl greeted, sticking her hand out, "My name's Grace, what are you doing in Danno's office? Are you in trouble?"

 _Grace. Detective Williams' beloved daughter, and the apple of Danny's, McGarrett's and Dean's eye. Well...shit._

Daniel hesitantly reached out and shook her hand, marveling slightly at her strong grip.

"I'm Daniel," he replied.

Grace tilted her head and refused to let Daniel's hand go. In fact, she tightened her grip and stared at him with an intensity that is unnerving. He found himself shrinking in his seat and tried to tug his hand free. He averted his eyes from her probing stare, a blush working its way down from his ears to his chest when he realized he just lost a stare down with a pre-teen (teen?) girl. Dean'd've never let him live it down.

"You're scared," she said matter-of-factly. "Why? You're safe here with Danno, Uncle Steve, Uncle Chin, and Auntie Kono. It's the safest place on the island."

Daniel didn't know what to say. He's scared to speak to her. What if McGarrett saw them? He'd kill Daniel on the spot.

"Actually," Grace started, finally letting Daniel's go and quit staring at him like he's a particularly interesting bug, "the safest place is with Dean. He's my Uncle Steve's boyfriend. He knows how to kill monsters and stuff. Do you need a monster killed?"

Daniel blinked. Uhhhh...

"It's okay," Grace assured him. "I know monsters are real. I overheard Danno and Auntie Kono talking about it one night. I asked Dean about it and he confirmed it. He told me never to worry because he's there and he'll make sure none of those nasty sons of bitches come anywhere near me." She broke off to blink away sudden tears and swallow back a sob. "He'll come back. He loves Uncle Steve. He'll come back, you'll see. He just needs time to cool off."

Again, Daniel blinked. He has no idea what to say.

He opened his mouth to offer something...condolences?...say he knows Dean?...but before he could, Grace collected herself and asked, "Do you wanna play Crazy 8's?"

Like a magic trick, she pulled out a deck of cards from Detective Williams' desk. She didn't even wait for Daniel to respond, she was already shuffling the deck dealing out cards. Well then, he's playing cards with a teenager.

Daniel lost himself in the game, allowing his mind to drift away from thoughts of his possible death by McGarrett or Linas, and focused on not losing his 7th straight game to Grace. She's a little cut throat, and he admires that about her. At her age, he was cowering in the sewers hiding from the humans that dominated the world above, and he was all alone without anyone to care about him.

He'd been alone for a long, long time before he met Dean.

The door slamming open had Daniel letting out a shriek of fear and diving behind the couch, startling the shit out of poor Grace who flung the cards all about. She swore loudly, earning a sharp rebuke from Steve as he jumped over the couch and hauled Daniel up to his feet, only to slam him against the glass wall hard enough to crack the glass. He ignored Grace's shout of alarm, and Danny's roar of anger, and the teams' shouts of him to stop, but it was one voice that cut through everything.

"Commander McGarrett!" A pissed off British voice bellowed.

Steve turned to see an incredibly pissed off Rachel marching towards him. Once she got within reaching distance of the SEAL, she rocked back and punched him hard enough to send him crashing against the very window he slammed Daniel into. She towered over Steve, enraged beyond belief.

"What. Is. Wrong. With you?" she snarled. "I don't care what that man did to you, you will _**not**_ scare my daughter like that again." Her nostrils flared dangerously as she struggled to control her anger. "Daniel," she said, turning to her ex-husband, "will you please take Grace and the young man to another room?"

Danny numbly nodded his head, leading both Grace and Daniel to Kono's office. He shot a worried look to Chin, who gave him a helpless shrug in response.

He watched his ex-wife positively lambaste his partner and best friend within an inch of his life. It was pretty funny watching the gigantic SEAL shrink down to the size of Thumbelina as a woman slightly smaller than Danny, tower over him as she unleashed her wrath upon the poor unsuspecting Navy Lieutenant Commander.

Danny saw Steve open his mouth, most likely to defend himself, but Rachel cut him off and yelled at him more viciously. Steve paled at whatever Rachel said, earning a cruel smirk from the petite woman. And now Steve looks like he's about to cry.

Okay, time to intervene.

"Grace, Daniel, I want you two to stay here while I go help out Steve," he told his daughter and newest house guest. "Grace, I want you to make sure Daniel's head isn't busted."

"Yes, Danno," Grace replied, her eyes wide as she watched her mother yell at her Uncle Steve.

Danny took a fortifying breath before opening his office door and striding inside.

"...And you wonder why Dean left in the manner that he did," she snapped.

"Rachel!" Danny yelled, angry now that he knew why Steve looked like he was this close to losing it. He's blinking rapidly and swallowing a whole lot. Not good. "Never bring up Dean, remember? That topic is off limits!"

She whirled towards him. "I don't care! He scared our daughter, Danny, and for what? A man that obviously is not dangerous at all."

Steve collected himself long enough to ask, "And how do you know he's not dangerous?"

The look Rachel sent Steve brought up horrible memories of the days before the divorce in Danny. He sent a telepathic message of support and a promise to talk later to the big lug but he didn't think Steve got it.

"Because, _Commander_ ," Rachel hissed, making the title sound like a filthy swear word, "if he had been dangerous, Danny wouldn't've left him uncuffed in his office. He wouldn't have let Grace go into his office if there was someone unsafe in there. I asked Danny if Grace could wait in his office, and he said yes. Ergo, that young man is not dangerous."

Steve sent her a glare that made even Danny nervous to see.

"With all due respect, Mrs. Edwards," Steve said with gritted teeth, "but you don't know him."

"And if you think he's such a danger, why isn't he locked up or in cuffs?" Rachel asked with a sneer. "Why is he sitting curled on the couch, alone, unsupervised in Danny's office? That man did nothing but entertain Grace while Daniel and I talked about his upcoming weekend with our daughter. You touch that man again, and I swear Commander, I will file brutality charges against you, and don't think I won't."

They glared at each other, the hostility between them could have frozen the surface of the sun.

Danny's unsure if he should intervene or not. They could both take their anger out on him or they could spoil him later, thanking him for breaking up their argument before it escalated to the point of violence, and Danny doesn't think Steve will come out on top. Rachel is a dirty fighter.

"Uh," he dithered, much to his eternal embarrassment. If Steve wasn't this close to going feral, Danny knew to the very fiber of his being, that his partner would tease him about it until the end of days. Danny lucked out on that front.

"I think we should shelve this conversation for a later date, okay?" Danny said, clapping his hands together. "I'm going to go check on Grace and Daniel."

"Wait, the young man's name is 'Daniel'?" Rachel asked, blinking in surprise. At Steve and Danny's nod, Rachel had to stifle a smile. "What - Why is he here? What did he do?"

Danny answered before Steve did.

"Someone tried to kill him." He waited a bit, having an internal debate before adding, "He's also a friend of Dean's."

The change in Rachel made Danny straighten up in response.

"He's Dean's friend, and someone tried to kill him," she said slowly, her mind churning. "Dean was here. On the island. And he didn't come see Grace?" Her anger started to return in full force.

Danny had to stop it before Rachel truly lost it, but it was Steve who spoke up.

"He was on Maui," he responded flatly. "He was on Maui with that... with Daniel. He'd been on that island for a couple of weeks before we got wind of him even being back on the islands, and he disappeared the day we went looking for him."

"Actually," Danny cut in, not liking Steve placing all the blame on Dean, "we think Dean's dad came and collected him before we caught up to him, leaving Daniel behind for his own safety." Okay, so he lied about the last part.

Rachel snorted. "So much for leaving that young man behind for safety, especially considering he's already had two attempts on his life, one in _protective_ custody." The glare she sent Steve would have melted all of Antarctica into one big ass puddle. Steve's returning glare did nothing but piss Rachel off more.

Fuck his life, Danny thought forlornly. All he's going to hear about for _days_ is how unreasonable the other is.

"Daniel's been staying with me," Danny told Rachel in an attempt to change the subject. "I told him Grace is coming over and he promised to stay out of the way."

"What?!" Steve squawked indignantly. "You can't possibly be thinking of letting Grace near that _Thing_! It's not safe. That Thing isn't safe. We know it isn't." Steve threw his hands in the air before combing them through his hair in frustration. "You know what? I'm not letting you take Grace to your place if that Thing is going to be staying with you while Gracie's there."

Danny felt his blood pressure skyrocket. How dare he!

Before he could stop himself, Danny swung as hard as he can, grinning a feral smile when he connected and watched Steve fall down to his knees. Danny followed up and brought his fist down again. He ignored the shouts of Rachel and his team mates, all he cared about was hurting Steve.

He's so mad at the SEAL. For everything. He's the reason Dean left. He's the reason they lost Dean.

And who the fuck does he think he is to keep his daughter away from him!

Chin pulled him back while Catherine and Kono checked on Steve. Rachel gave Steve a cold smile when she walked by to go check on Gracie and Daniel.

"Come, you two," she told them. "Let's go to Danny's while they sort this out."

Grace stared in shock at her father, shuffling after her mother on autopilot, her hand grasping Daniel's. Daniel plodded after Grace, keeping his head down, afraid to attract the attention of any of the task force members. They might blame him for this whole thing. He _knows_ McGarrett will blame him for Danny's behavior. It's best to not look anyone in the eye.

Though he is wondering why Rachel is being so protective of him. Is it to use against Danny at a later date? For full custody of Grace?

He tightened his grip on Grace's hand without thinking, mind on Danny potentially losing Grace because of him. He's been around the man long enough to know the sun revolves around his little girl. If Danny loses Grace, Daniel loses a safe haven, and Dean might not be too happy with him possibly being the reason that happens.

Grace squeezed his hand back. She gave him a reassuring smile that had Daniel feeling bad for having a young teenager comforting him when it was her "Danno" and Uncle Steve fighting like that.

Daniel knows those two bicker over anything and everything but so far, Daniel's never really seen them fight like they just did. That was serious. He has no idea how Grace is handling this but he's not going to push in case he might break whatever zen she's currently feeling. He has no idea how to comfort someone. Just ask Dean... and now Grace.

"Don't worry," Grace assured him. "Uncle Steve didn't mean what he said."

"But what if he did?" Daniel asked. "What if he meant it? He hates me because I lived with Dean. He'd do anything to make my life hell, and I don't think he's thinking straight if he's threatening Danny like that."

Grace sighed and let Daniel's hand go to scrub her face with both hands. Daniel felt bad for asking her these questions but she knows them best.

She looked around before tugging Daniel out the office doors and down the stairs to the parking lot, away from prying eyes and ears, and it had Daniel feeling slightly nervous. She's Danny daughter, and she has some aunts and uncles who have undoubtedly taught her some moves that would ensure her to come out on top of whoever she's fighting, and she could kick his ass from here to the end of the parking lot with embarrassing ease. His ego would never recover if that happened.

"Is Dean okay?"

Daniel blinked. Out of all the things running through his head, that was not what he'd thought she'd say. Then again, of course that's what she'd ask about. Her crush on Dean would make him a priority after her father, and then it'd be her Uncle Steve and everyone else.

"He was fine the last time I saw him," Daniel admitted. He decided not to elaborate because he didn't want to upset if he confessed all the fears he had over Dean.

Grace let out a sigh of relief and leaned briefly against him.

"Thank God," she muttered to herself. Grace shot him a happy smile and asked, "Do you think he'll come back?"

Daniel blinked again. The serious - and a little bit - insecure question does not match the happy expression on her face. It's kind of putting Daniel off-kilter, and he has not idea how to answer her because he doesn't know what answer she's looking for.

"I dunno," he answered honestly.

Grace deflated in front of him. It was like the sun being eclipsed.

"I thought that since you were here that Dean'd come back for you, if not for anyone else," Grace said bitterly. Daniel's not sure he shouldn't say anything. "He was actually here on the islands? For how long?"

There's a sharpness in her questions that has Daniel feeling like he was on thin ice in the middle of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antartica. He better tread lightly or he'll have a pissed off Williams on his hand. The wrong answer will have a cold front - that would make Russia terrified - be on his ass, and would most likely unite with the McGarrett's artic winds. He'd be frozen faster than he could blink.

"Not long."

Grace glared at him. "Why won't you tell me how long you two were on the island?"

"Because I don't want to get hit," Daniel answered in a small voice. "McGarrett would _love_ to do the honors."

Grace frowned, not liking that her beloved Uncle Steve would be that cruel to Daniel.

Daniel flinched when he heard Rachel calling for Grace. He shot a nervous look behind to see if McGarrett was charging towards him with murder in his eyes or if Danny was coming to tell him some bad news. Neither of them were behind Rachel.

"Let's go eat," Rachel called at them.

Grace grabbed Daniel's hand and tugged him towards her mother.

"We're not done talking," she whispered so her mother wouldn't hear. "But I won't let Uncle Steve hurt you either, and don't worry about this weekend. There is no way I'm letting anyone keep me away from my Danno."

She had this fierce look on her face that had Daniel believing her because he had no doubt in his mind that Grace would rain holy hell on anyone who would dare keep her away from her father, regardless of who it is. Not again.

"Okay." Daniel gave her a small, unsure smile. She returned the smile with a wink.

Danny has one amazing, and really terrifying kid.

 **ALK**

Dean punched the ghoul he and his dad were hunting in Spokane right in the face. The ghoul snarled at him, face bloody from its now broken nose. Dean dodged a wild punch the creature threw in desperation, realization dawning on it that if it doesn't take out Dean right now, it was going to die.

He had no idea where his dad is which sucks because he could really use some help right now. The ghoul's desperation is lending it strength and its starting to gain some ground on there battle, and he is going to lose if his dad doesn't help right the fuck now.

Like an avenging angel, his dad appeared behind the ghoul and swung his machete to take off the ghoul's head. The head landed with a wet thunk while the body spurted blood on Dean before falling down to the ground. Twin pools of blood grew into big puddles from where the severed head lay and the top end of the body where the head once stood. With the right angle, it would probably look like some piece of modern or Gothic art.

"Thanks," Dean gasped out. He bent over to catch his breath. Man, that ghoul was _strong_.

His dad grinned at him, eyes alight with adrenaline and amusement. He reached over and clapped Dean on the back.

"No problem," he told Dean.

Dean caught his breath and stood up to his full height, stretching out the kinks he accumulated during the fight, hissing slightly when he pulled on sore muscles and bruised parts. He leaned into his dad. Well, slumped would be more accurate.

"Carry me," he whined, earning a chuckle from his dad.

John ducked under Dean's arm and wrapped his own around Dean's waist, taking on most of his tired son's weight. They had a few bumps in the road to this point, where Dean is acting a little more bravely around him, even joking around with him. John honestly can't remember the last time Dean let himself truly relax around him.

No. That's a lie.

The last time Dean was this relaxed around him was before Mary died. Before Sam was born. Before everything went wrong with their family.

He can clearly recall Dean running through the house, screaming bloody murder, holding his treasured purple teddy bear he named Bucky because John showed him his old _Captain America_ comics and Dean fell in love with the Captain's kid sidekick Bucky. Dean had launched himself on John, tucking Bucky between him and Dean so the bear would be kept safe from whatever danger was currently imagining them being in. And John, who had been in the process of getting up from the recliner, got knocked back down and had an armful of hyperactive Dean.

Mary's laughter had John biting back a sharp retort because Dean and Bucky landed on a rather sensitive area on John's body. Instead, he wrapped his arms tight around his son and picked him and the bear up and ran (as well as he could after getting hit in the balls) them upstairs to the master bedroom. He slammed the door shut and ushered Dean and Bucky Bear in the closet while he fought the Red Skull.

It was a glorious battle, or so he told Dean. Captain America had showed up and took Red Skull away so he wouldn't bother Dean and Bucky Bear again. His son had clapped with joy and gave a kiss of thanks on his cheek, giggling when the scruff of John's beard tickled him.

Dean had collapsed against him, hugging Bucky Bear close to his chest, and had just lain there atop his dad, resting and completely at ease and full of trust in the knowledge that John loved him no matter what and knew his dad would protect him at all costs. He fell asleep on top of John. He believes Mary took a picture of them together like that. It burned up in the fire like so many other things.

"Nice job with distracting the ghoul," John complimented him, bringing himself back from the past. Dean grunted in response. "You could have done better," he couldn't help but add. "That ghoul should have never gotten the upper hand with you. I taught you better than that."

"Well, Dad," Dean started, "when someone is about to die, and they realize this, they get ridiculously strong from a surge of adrenaline. That whole Fight-or-Flight reflex thing is real."

John snorted and ducked out from under Dean's arm, letting his son stumble a bit before he got his balance again. Dean shot John an angry glare.

"Dick," Dean muttered darkly. "For that, I'm not talking to you." He crossed his arms and refused to respond to any of his dad's questions or remarks.

He didn't think Dean could do it, especially after the freighter incident, but Dean actually kept his trap shut and didn't say a word to John the entire ride to Pastor Jim's in Minnesota, and they were traveling from Colorado. John couldn't help but admire his son's stubbornness, and he thinks if that storm hadn't've popped up while they were on that freighter, Dean _still_ might not be talking to him.

Maybe Sam absorbed Dean's hidden stubbornness into himself and that's why his youngest is so damn pigheaded. It's a good a theory as any.

Pastor Jim Murphy greeted John at the door with a disapproving look that washed over John like water off a duck. John grunted at the pastor when he walked by into the parish. Dean, on the other hand, greeted Pastor Jim with a happy shout and hugged the older man.

Pastor Jim laughed and hugged Dean back.

"I have missed you, Dean," Pastor Jim whispered into his hair. He pressed a kiss to Dean's temple, happy to have Dean back where he can check up on him. Jim had been worried about John's oldest since he took off from Hawaii. They hadn't been able to find him, John taught the boy too well, and it came around to bite all of them in the ass when they couldn't find him. Well, _they_ couldn't find Dean, and Jim bets his eternal soul that John knew exactly where his son was and was just letting his boy find his way on his own.

Despite what people say about John Winchester, Jim knows the Winchester Patriarch loves his boys dearly and would do anything for their safety. Even if it meant lying to them.

John's appearance does not bode well.

"Missed you, too," Dean mumbled into his shoulder. "Please tell me you got something to eat. I'm _starving_. Dad didn't stop the entire drive here, and speaking of, I need to take a piss. Like now. Bathroom still in the same place?" Jim nodded. "Oh, good. I'll be right back."

Dean darted passed Jim and down the hallway that housed the bathroom. Jim chuckled. Oh, Dean, how he missed him. He wasn't lying when he told the boy that.

"So," Jim started, turning to stare at John, who is currently sprawled out on his new couch, "where'd you find him at?"

"Hawaii," John answered.

"Haw - Really?" Now Jim did not see that coming. "Why?"

John snorted. "Why else? He was hiding from McGarrett there. Oh, and me. He was hiding from the both of us in Hawaii, the last place either of us would look. And he was right," John admitted. "For McGarrett. I found him after that poltergeist case he worked on in Michigan. Been following ever since until I collected him on Maui."

"Will this McGarrett person come after him again?" Pastor Jim asked mildly. He's unsure what side of the fence he'd fall on if the Navy SEAL did come for Dean.

John shook his head. "Not likely. He has no idea where to look for Dean, but he does know I took him. Or he should. If not, then maybe he's not the guy for my son."

Pastor Jim Murphy rolled his eyes so hard his vision whited out and he even saw God look upon John friggin' Winchester in exasperation. No one will be good enough for either of his sons, and Heaven help anyone who dared to think they were worthy of John Winchester's sons. The former Marine will prove them wrong real quick. And it doesn't matter how good they actually are for the boys, John will never deem them good enough, not in a million, billion years.

Did he detect a hint of derisiveness in John's voice when he said McGarrett's name?

"Where's Samuel?" Better to move on from McGarrett. "I thought he was joining you guys."

"Still in school. We're going after him next week," John informed him. A little too nonchalantly, if Jim were being honest, but he won't say anything because he doesn't want a surly Winchester on his hands. It seems that there's already an air of contention between John and Dean, and he doesn't want to turn their ire onto him.

"Okay then," Jim said. He went into the kitchen and started heating some of his leftovers for them to eat.

By the time he heated up all of his leftovers, Dean emerged looking clean and reinvigorated, he must have had a quick shower. Those military three-minute showers sure do come in handy.

"You. Are. Awesome," Dean told Jim with the utmost sincerity, and it brought a smile to the Pastor's face. He always had a soft spot for Dean. Don't get him wrong, he cared deeply for both boys but watching Dean basically raise Sam while John pursued his crusade for the demon that killed his beloved wife, Jim found himself spoiling Dean when John wasn't around. Little things that he knew Dean wouldn't suspect as special treatment because then he'd be mad at Jim for giving him these toys and such instead of Sammy.

Dean descended upon the lasagna like a starved wolf and ate it up faster than Jim could even offer him a drink. John tore into the beef stew, and he startled the crap out of Jim because he didn't even hear him enter the kitchen.

Damned Marine and his sneaky ninja skills.

Pastor Jim got two Pepsi cans out of the fridge and placed in front of the two ravenous men. They grunted thanks at him and continued eating all the leftovers he placed on the table, going in a clockwise manner until they met up over the chocolate fudge cake Jim made as a treat to himself for doing a sermon he's still proud of.

They glared at each other before they battled over the cake. The clashing of forks had Jim dodging suddenly airborne pieces of cake. John won, of course.

Dean retaliated by drinking up the last of the milk, much to the outrage of John. The younger hunter smirked at him and sauntered down the hall to his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him, even turning the lock just in case John didn't get he was mad at him.

"Do I want to know?" Jim asked mildly.

"No," came the surly reply.

Figures. Damn Winchester men. Such drama queens.


	8. Chapter 8

Steve's had a lot of bad days. Listening to his father being murdered over the phone is among the worst days of his life, in fact, it's at the tippy top of his list of Bad Days. But getting his ass thoroughly kicked by his (ex) boyfriend's not-so-little brother is definitely in the Top 5.

His morning started off normal. He got up, went for a run, took a shower, made breakfast, ate the recently made breakfast, changed into his work clothes, put on his badge and gun, opened his front door and got punched in the face before he even registered who was standing at his door. The punch was quickly followed by some gut punches, a kick to the knee, and a quick combo to the face. And just when it finally registered that it's Sam currently kicking his ass, Sam brought his foot up and did a combo kick to his face and chest.

It took everything in him not to fight back, to not hurt Sam. Not even in self-defense would he hurt Dean's beloved baby brother. He might never get Dean back if he did.

Where in the hell did he learn to fight? Was his foremost thought as he spat out blood. Everything hurt. He wasn't sure if he should move.

Sam kicked his ass, quite literally at one point, and seemed to delight in punching his face, like he was trying to bash it in. And the scary thing? He hadn't said a word. He didn't even grunt or make a noise. The entire attack was soundless. That'll stick with him for a long, long time.

Once Sam seemed to finish with his beat-down, he just left. Steve has no idea where he is or when he arrived on the island. Chin should have notified him of Sam's arrival, but if he didn't, then Sam must have gotten on the island some other way. That means Sam is probably already gone. There would be no point in going after him. Once Sam hits the mainland, he's as good as gone. Steve'll never find him. Just like he didn't find Dean.

That whole family can teach a course of disappearing without a trace.

Actually, scratch that.

Steve hopes his enemies never learn of this. They'd track down Sam and ask just how he managed to get the upper hand on Steve. Hell, Sam would make a shitload of money teaching courses on How to Kick a Navy SEAL's ass 101.

He groped around for his phone and sent a text to Chin and Kono to come to his place, and for them to not tell Danny. Not that Danny'd come if he knew.

Or actually, he might come just to make fun of Steve for getting his ass handed to him by a 20 year-old.

Chin appeared like an angel of vengeance, gun drawn, eyes sweeping over the room as he looked for the threat that had Steve looking bloody and broken. Kono appeared from the kitchen, gun also drawn, looking like a Valkyrie ready for war.

Once they deemed the house safe, they checked in on Steve, assessing the damage of Steve's beat-down. Chin winced when he saw the lovely shades of purple on his body, hissing when he found a footprint on his back the exact size of Sam's shoe. He can even make out the ridges at the bottom of the younger man's shoe in perfect detail. Sam must have used all his strength when he kicked Steve.

Kono had a hard expression on her face when she took in the full extent of Steve's injuries. It's been a long time since she's seen Steve this beat up. She liked Sam, and he hurt her friend and left without any of them knowing he was even on the island.

"How long ago did he leave?" Kono asked Steve, her voice neutral. It spoke volumes of just how pissed off she is. "When did he leave, Steve?" she demanded. "Tell me!"

"Kono!" Chin chastised. "Not now. We need to get Steve to the hospital, and we need to call Danny and tell him what happened. We'll also need to find a place for Daniel to stay at while we look into finding Sam."

His cousin didn't look happy about it, and he understands her anger, he does, but helping Steve right now is more important than revenge.

"And what about Grace? After the fight Steve and Danny had, I don't think Danny'll come to Steve's aid," Kono said the last part softly, like she didn't want Steve to hear. "I think we should handle this on our own, Cuz."

Chin didn't like it, every instinct is screaming at him to circle the wagons and for him to call Danny - it'd be wrong _not_ to tell Danny about Steve's attack - but Kono is right. After their fight yesterday, Danny might not come.

This whole thing is a mess.

"Fine," Chin conceded. "We won't call Danny. But we are taking him to the hospital."

"You'll get no argument for me."

Steve listened to the cousins figure out what to do next. A part of him wanted to order them after Sam. He can't get away with this. He assaulted an officer - sort of. He assaulted someone of law enforcement. Not even for Dean's little brother can they look away from such a blatant attack on Steve. But another part of him thinks he deserved the beat-down. That it's punishment for unintentionally hurting Dean and driving him away, and for threatening - friggin' _threatening_ \- Danny that he'd make sure he wouldn't see Grace anymore if he brought her near that Thing.

He knew as soon as the words left his mouth that he just did (hopefully almost but not quite) irreparable damage to their friendship, let alone their partnership. Steve has no idea how to even begin to repair the damage he's done.

He allowed the cousins to gingerly carry him to Kono's car and drove him to the hospital where he the doctor ordered him to remain there for a couple of days to heal without interruption. Oh, the joys of being Five-0 and being recognized by everyone on the islands. Steve didn't even try to fight the doctor's orders. That spoke volumes of how not-very-right Steve is.

"Find Sam," Steve ordered Chin and Kono. They nodded and took off to do their job.

Steve didn't even know when he fell asleep but he woke up very suddenly. He's not alone in his room. Whoever's in his room, they're not hospital staff. They would have told him who they were as to not to startle him.

"You know," a familiar voice started, "it took a lot not to keep beating your ass. I wanted to. I really did. It's not like you don't deserve it," Sam said, unknowingly echoing Steve's earlier thoughts. "But I know Dean still cares about you and I didn't want to upset him anymore than he already is and will be after he finds out about your beating."

The fact that Sam is saying all this in a bored voice, unnerves him.

"Why didn't you fight back?" Sam asked. "Why would you allow me to kick your ass? You're a SEAL. I was taught by a former Marine sergeant. There is no way in hell I could have gotten as many hits in as I did. So, McGarrett, care to share your kink of masochism?"

Steve didn't want to answer. He didn't.

But...

"You're Dean's brother," he answered honestly. "Hurting you, hurts him. I'd rather take beating than hurt Dean any more than I already have."

Sam stared at him with an unreadable expression.

Steve stared right back.

Minutes ticked by but neither of them would give ground by looking away. It was a battle of wills that Steve didn't want to lose. Mainly because he was so fucking sick of losing. He lost Dean. He opened his big mouth and he might have lost Danny and Grace. He's losing his team because he just can't let Dean go.

Sam seemed to sense this somehow for he looked away to stare out the window. The sky is starting to lighten. The birds are already heralding the coming sun and the start of a new day.

"I'm leaving," Sam told him. "Please don't embarrass yourself and try to follow me."

Steve watched the young hunter walk out the door before turning back around and saying softly, "If you really, really want to get Dean back. Come after him again. We'll be hiding out in Minnesota till the end of the month." He turned and pinned Steve down with a harsh glare. "I hated you at first, you know? I thought you weren't good enough for my brother, but I never saw him that happy. Ever. Not in all the years I've known him, I've never seen so happy, and it was because of you. I want him to be that happy again. Even if it's with you, McGarrett."

And with that, Sam walked out the door without making a sound. He heard no one stop him in the halls. Dean taught him well.

Steve laid in bed for hours, accepting any medication the nurses brought to him without complaint, his mind whirring.

Minnesota.

Dean will be in Minnesota until the end of the month. That gives him two weeks to find him and convince him to come home. He'll have to truly think of something romantic that'll sweep Dean off his feet and onto a plane and back to Hawaii. The thing though, he has no idea if romantic would work on Dean. Maybe if he did something so badass that Dean'll gladly come back with him. He really likes it when Steve shows off his prowess of his years of military training.

Danny'd know what he should do. If he were talking to him, that is.

Of all the times to get into a horrible fight with Danny, it had to be when he just thrown a life preserver by Sam Winchester, _and_ he got Sam's blessing. He thinks. Danny'd know if he did or not.

Or maybe their fight came at an opportune time. It's not Danny's job to help him get Dean back. It's not Danny's responsibility to fix his relationship. Plus, if he does this on his own, he won't feel like Dean only came back home because someone else gave him a reason to take Steve back and forgive him.

He can do this.

On his own.

He'll allow himself to heal before he takes off to Minnesota. Steve needs to be at full capacity when he tracks down Dean and his family.

A family full of hunters. Yeah, that'll be fun.

 **ALK**

Sam let his head thunk against the steering wheel of his rental. Kicking McGarrett's ass wasn't as fun or as fulfilling as he thought it would be. He just feels empty. And guilty. Like he did something bad because he listened to his dad and got revenge for his hurting brother. He should have no reason to feel guilty.

None at all.

...And yet.

Whatever. He still has a shapeshifter to take care of.

Sam drove to Detective Williams' residence, hoping only the 'shifter was there. Williams' house came into view and saw no car in the driveway. Maybe the gods are looking out for him, Sam thought as he parked a couple of houses down. He knows he should park further away but Sam is too lazy to be thorough.

Digging through his duffle, Sam grabbed the silver dagger Mamo provided for him. He has a feeling the Hawaiian will not be happy with him when he finds out Sam gave McGarrett a beat-down.

"He let me kick his ass," Sam huffed to himself in disbelief. "I can't believe him."

Shaking his head, Sam got out of his rental and strode towards the detective's house. A quick look through the windows revealed the 'shifter and Grace were the only ones in the house.

Okay, one, what the hell is wrong with Williams leaving his daughter alone with a monster? And two, how the hell is he going to get Grace out of the house so he can take care of the 'shifter? Because there is no way he can kill the creature in front of Grace, mainly if he did, Dean would find out and he wouldn't help him when Williams comes after him.

"What to do? What to do?" Sam mumbled out loud. He looked around to find something to lure Grace out while he took out the 'shifter. All he found was gnomes in various position. Does Williams have a gnome fetish?

Kicking at the dirt, Sam stomped his way back to his rental.

Okay, new plan. Operation Get Grace Out of the House needs to be enacted.

...Now how does he do that?

 **ALK**

Grace watched Daniel putter around the house, picking up random knick knacks and inspecting them before putting them back in the exact spot he grabbed them from, in the exact way they were. He's been doing this since Danno left to go help track down Sam Winchester. Danno wouldn't tell her why they're trying to find Dean's little brother or why Uncle Steve isn't helping them track down Sam.

Danno woke them up before the sun and told her he was going into work, after he yelled at Uncle Chin and Auntie Kono for something. She really wishes her Danno wouldn't keep things from her. She's not a little kid anymore.

Grace sighed loudly, startling Daniel from his inspection of the Father's Day frame she made for Danno when she was 5. He fumbled with it like he was in a slapstick comedy before he managed to capture it and place it back where he picked up from. Daniel shot her a sheepish look and resumed his inspection of Danno's house.

"Is it like a nervous tick or something?" Grace asked Daniel. When he shot her a confused look, she elaborated. "You pick up stuff and look at it before placing it down _exactly_ where you grabbed it from, in _exactly_ the same position."

Daniel blinked at her. "Uh. I dunno," he shrugged.

He felt stupid he couldn't answer her.

"Is Sam as scary as Dean?" Daniel asked.

Grace tapped her chin in thought. _Is_ Sam scarier than Dean? She doesn't think so but Grace really doesn't know Sam all that well. She knows Dean, and the only person more dangerous and scary than Dean is her Danno and _ohana_. But then again, they are the scariest in their own worlds. No one beats her _ohana_ in law enforcement but Dean battles monsters and demons and everything else that goes bump in the night. He's like the Scooby Gang but without a talking dog and a, well, the "gang" part of the Scooby Gang.

 _Jinkies_.

Snorting to herself, Grace moved over to the couch and fell back asleep.

Daniel continued looking through Danny's various odds and ends, his mind in turmoil and panic. Sam Winchester is here. Detective Williams and Five-0 are looking for him but McGarrett isn't for some reason. He is touched, however, that Danny trusted him with his daughter.

He needs air.

Checking to make sure Grace was truly asleep, Daniel walked out onto the lanai, his gaze unfocused as he tried to figure out what to do next. He could just leave. Danny's not here and McGarrett seems to be in the wind. All Daniel has to do is pull out his wallet and pick a picture and he'd be home free. There's really nothing keeping him here. Dean's gone. McGarrett isn't here to threaten him with a painful death.

But there is Danny. There is some guilt there. If Daniel takes off like he desperately wants to, Five-0 would blame him. The detective did a lot for him.

"I'm sorry, Danny," Daniel whispered. He took one last look at Grace before walking down the street. There's some old lava tubes a few miles south that he can hide in and shed his skin without anyone finding it. He's thinking about choosing a female image. He hasn't been a woman in a long time.

Was he born female? Does it matter? Not really. It's all the same to him.

It took Daniel over an hour to find the nearest lava tube opening, he made sure no one saw him enter the cave-like system. He ventured far enough down the tube to find an intersection, he took the left one and walked for another half mile before he deemed it far enough away from the opening. He took a deep breath and followed through the painful transition from Matthias Envers to Emily Harris, a plain looking woman in her early twenties. He should be able to get off the island and find Dean on the mainland unseen.

He almost slipped on his own skin. Rookie movie. He hasn't done that since he was a kid.

... _She_ hasn't done that since she was a kid.

Right. Switching pronouns now.

Emily, she likes that name. She'll by it from now on.

Emily carefully navigated her way back to the opening of the lava tubes. She needs to find some clothes to change into. Mathias' clothes are big on her. She can barely walk without tripping over too long pants legs. It'd be nice to wear dresses again. More breathable but no pockets.

Sunlight beckoned her and she strode forward without thought, only to be get hit on the back of the head. Emily was out before she even registered she got hit.

 **ALK**

Sam couldn't believe his luck. The 'shifter walked out of the house on its own. It stupidly walked away from safety for some damn reason, and Sam isn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. He followed the stupid creature to some lava tubes. Okay, so it's not completely stupid but it is stupid enough to leave a safe place.

He had no problem following it unseen.

The idiotic thing only checked to see if it was being followed when it was right outside the labrythine network of tunnel. Killing this thing will be too easy.

Sam silently followed the 'shifter into the tubes, taking left and hiding behind another bend until the 'shifter came back to the entrance. He's not so good at patience, not like Dean is. His older brother has a lot of practice with Sam and their dad on keeping patient because his blockheaded, stubborn family likes to dig their heels in, and Dean always, _always_ had to keep the cool head as he long-sufferingly talked them out of their asses and found common ground between them.

There was a reason Sam chose Dean as his hero for a paper his English teacher assigned in his sophomore year. His paper also brought up questions about his home life that made his dad withdraw them and bug-out two months before they were supposed to.

Dad _and_ Dean were mad at him, but Dean took him out driving, gently teaching him how to drive.

Sam still has that paper stashed away at Pastor Jim's. He should give it to Dean. His brother would love it.

Shaking his head, Sam stared down at the 'shifter, who's now a woman. Smart. No one looks at a woman who is mousy in appearance. People's eyes would glide over her. She'd be able to get off the island or make a new life here, right under the island protectors and Five-0.

Whatever. It's going to die. He just needs a few answers out of it.

Why would McGarrett have a shapeshifter living with Williams? Why didn't his dad take care of it if he knew it was here?

...Did Dean know about it? If he did, why didn't he kill it. Dean _hates_ shapeshifters. He doesn't like how everything about them is a lie. Hell, even their _DNA_ is a lie. Can shapeshifters even remember their original visage? Is it inherent? Like a permanent memory they can never forget? How do shapeshifters recognize their young? Is there a smell they give off that marks off a child as one of their own or do they just care for any 'shifter kid that comes around and pretends its their own?

Okay, so maybe Sam veered off in his outline for the upcoming interrogation. He will not be asking those questions. The scholar in him really got away before he could reign it back in. Although, it would be interesting if the 'shifter actually answered any of his questions about its biology and psychology and shit.

He'd really love to write all this down for future hunters. Just in case some other hunter would like to actually study the creatures instead of killing it.

It's really doubtful that a hunter would actively study shapeshifters, and if they did, they would only read as far as the information about its weaknesses and how to kill it. It's the extent his father and brother research creatures. Why would he think there would be others out there who are curious, at least intellectually, about the creatures they hunt?

There has to be a sect of hunters out there that are intellectuals and scholars who study monsters and demons and ghosts just for the pursuit of knowledge. There just has to be.

Maybe Pastor Jim'll know.

So, interrogate the 'shifter about its relationship with McGarrett and Williams, kill it once it answered Sam's questions to his satisfaction, burn the body, fly out to Stanford where Dean and his dad are picking him up, and then he'll question his family about the 'shifter. If their answers don't match the shapeshifter's, Sam'll raise holy hell and leave them for Stanford again, and this time he won't be brought back into the "Family Business".

Not even Dean, pleaing for him to come back, will sway him in his decision.

But first, interrogation time!

He totally feels like he should be rubbing his hands and muwhahahaha-ing.

Note to self: Don't tell Dean about that impulse. It'd be nothing but jokes and teasing until one of their dying breath. Dad might even find a way to get the last laugh in by coming back from the dead temporarily to make fun of him before going back to whatever afterlife he's residing in.

The 'shifter moaned before receding back into unconsciousness. Right. Interrogation. Time to put on his game face... which Dean says makes him look like a constipated Labrador puppy.

Whatever. Game face is game face. The 'shifter will be intimidated no matter what. He's Dean Winchester's little brother and John Winchester's youngest son. If the 'shifter is smart, she'd 'fess up and admit everything honestly.

"How do you know McGarrett?"


	9. Chapter 9

Steve took every medicine prescribed without complaint, earning a few raised eyebrows from his team mates, but otherwise they didn't say a word. Danny's been floating around him, full of guilt and self-recrimination at his earlier actions, and as much as Steve wanted them to be on even footing again, that's going to have to wait. Steve has a much more urgent mission.

Other than some rather colorful bruising, Steve's actually okay. Apparently Sam hadn't kicked his ass as badly as he, and the doctors, first thought. Sam made sure to hit Steve in the meatiest parts of his body, outside his face, of course.

"I'm taking a couple weeks off. Danny, you'll be in charge until I get back," Steve told them without looking at his team. He felt Catherine take a couple steps toward him but stopped just shy of coming into his peripheral.

"Why?" she asked. "Why now, Steve?"

"Because it's time. I need to get my head screwed on straight," Steve answered, still not looking at them. "If I keep going how I'm going, I might just get one, if not all, of you killed. I'm a liability, and you guys know it. Danny can lead the team."

Silence followed his statement.

"I'm leaving today. I'll call each night to let you guys know I didn't do anything stupid or reckless," he assured his team. "Good luck, and catch some bad guys."

Steve left without another word.

He wasn't surprised when Danny ran to catch up with him.

"You'll be fine," Steve told him without looking at him. "Chin'll help you out if you need it. Kono is best as our sniper, and Catherine's pretty damn good at close quarter combat. I'd keep her by your side if you go on a raid."

"I know, Steve," came Danny's soft reply. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have protected Daniel so viciously as I did. Stupid thing took off and left Grace on her own. I should have let you kill it."

"Yeah," Steve said, "you should have, but that's in the past, Danny. Time to move on and shit. I really need to go. I wasn't lying, partner. I need a break."

"I know you do. Just." Danny sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Just stay safe, will you? I don't want to tell Grace that her favorite uncle's dead because he did something stupid and reckless." That earned a smile on both their faces.

"I will," Steve promised. He nodded in Danny's direction, still not looking at him.

He hopped into his truck and drove towards the airport. He's got a destination in mind: Minnesota. It's a big state, but Steve's been looking into Dean's family and friends and he knows one of his friends live in the state. The only problem is, is that he doesn't know who that friend is. He could have Catherine call in a favor for him and look up anyone connected to the hunter but that'd be telling everyone where he's going and why he took leave.

It's best not to get their hopes up, let alone his own, that he's trying to win back Dean. He's going to prove to the hunter he's worthy and that he is so sorry for being an idiot.

And maybe he'll think about how he may not be the only one at fault for the deterioration of their relationship.

Breezing through airport security, Steve used his power as the leader of Five-0 to get bumped up to first class just because he can. He'll need all the rest as he can get. Steve has a feeling he'll need it in his search to find Dean. He'll have to think like a hunter. He's watched Dean early in their relationship pour over news articles in search of hunts before he gave it up to play civilian. Steve _thinks_ he knows what to look for that could possibly catch Dean's attention.

It's already been a couple of days since Sam left and the shapeshifter disappeared. Is there a connection there or just a mere coincidence?

Steve relaxed in his chair, grinning when he felt the plane take off. He has a couple of layovers before he lands in Minnesota, and he plans on using that time to rest and to peruse some online Minnesota papers to see if he can find a possible hunt that he could check out just in case Dean goes after it. He'd then check out any places that mysteriously had its hauntings and things that go bump in the night go away, and he'd map it out to find a central location. He'd bet money that's where Dean's friend lives.

There were a few of Dean's friends that are stationary. They don't really travel as much as other hunters. They're more like advisers or something like that. The downside of that is that Dean never actually used names when he talked about them.

It's okay though. Steve is damn good at finding intel. He'd probably do a lot better on his own than with his team.

He'd only have to worry about himself instead of others.

Maybe he should have gone that way in the first place. He could have found Dean a lot easier and faster if he did it on his own, but he allowed his guilt over Dean and his jealousy of Danny that he didn't think it through. His emotions ruled that decision. That's not going to happen again. Steve wasn't lying that he was a liability to him and his team.

Even if Dean won't take him back, at least Steve will have closure, and he could move on.

The plane leveled out and they were allowed to use their electronic devices. Steve pulled out his laptop and got to work on looking up places that had their hauntings and killings stopped by individuals, and once he had that, he could make a geographical map that could narrow down his search.

Anticipation filled his veins with the thrill of the hunt.

He's going to find Dean and get closure one way or another.

 **ALK**

Sam slapped Emily upside the head for trying to sneak off yet again. His dad and brother are supposed to pick him up tomorrow, and Sam has a bone to pick with the both of them. Emily told him everything.

What the hell was Dean thinking keeping a shapeshifter as a goddamn pet? And why the fuck did his dad say all that shit about Steve when it wasn't even remotely true? Sam just attacked the man without provable intel. He operated on his father's word, and he really should have known better. Sam fucking knew better than just go on his dad's orders.

Great. Just fucking great.

He let his emotions rule him in a big and very bad way. Dean is going to kick his ass when he confesses what he did. Hopefully, Dean will also kick their dad's ass for sending Sam on his mission of revenge.

Emily whined pathetically and gave Sam stolen sad puppy eyes.

Sam ignored her and pushed her again to keep her moving. Jess is supposed to come over in a couple of minutes to send him off, and Sam really didn't want her and Emily in the same room. He's not exposing Jess to his life like that, not with a damn shapeshifter. Hell, he never wants Jess to know about his old life. He might lose her.

"You make a sound, I'll kill you slowly," Sam warned her. "You make your presence known, and you talk to Jess, then I promise you, _Emily_ , you won't like what I'll do to you. I have a lot of repressed rage and I would love to take it out on you."

Emily gulped and nodded her head. She has no idea why Sam brought her with him, and there is a minute part of her that's grateful, but she feels like she might have been better off back in Hawaii.

"I'll be as quiet as a mouse," Emily promised. Sam scared her in a way Dean or McGarrett didn't.

Sam's look promised pain beyond measure if she screwed this up.

He locked her in the guest room where the windows were bolted shut so she couldn't escape that way and the only other way out the apartment is through Sam's room, but that would be going against Sam's orders not to be seen by Jessica Moore. She's well and truly stuck. Shapeshifting isn't an option, not with Sam being super vigilant over her every move.

The only plus side Emily can see is after tonight, she'll see Dean again. What happens to her afterwards doesn't matter, not if she gets to see Dean one last time, although there is a part of her that is hoping he'd save her somehow.

Sam's goodbye to Jess lasted a long, _long_ time. Emily doesn't think she'd ever be able to look the taller man in the eye without blushing like a fire hydrant. Nope. Nuh uh.

But, dear god, the amount of stamina Sam has is frankly impressive. Jess is a lucky woman.

If felt like hours later when Sam unlocked the guest room door. He looked refreshed and completely relaxed, a looseness with his movements spoke of a very satisfied evening. Hell, the hunter even _smiled_ at her, a first. He's only ever sneered at her or glared with disgust.

Emily made damn sure to avoid eye contact and made her way into the kitchen to find something to eat. Sam hadn't let her eat all day. She's starving.

Sam must be really in a good mood, he didn't snap at her for using a butter knife or when she accidentally slammed the drawers and cupboards a little too aggressively. He merely put his finger to his lips and continued watching his show about H.H. Holmes, America's first serial killer. That boy has some terrifying interests.

This chill Sam is scaring her. She doesn't like it. The incredibly pissed off Sam is the one she knows.

To keep Sam in his good mood, Emily made him a sandwich as well. An evening without getting death threats or getting smacked on the head sounds real good to her right now, especially if she's meeting Dean tomorrow. A good night's sleep so she'd look her best for her hunter is what she's striving for tonight, and the only way to do that is to keep Sam in his mellow mood that Jess put him in. Emily's hoping that Sam'll go to sleep early tonight.

Sam grunted a thanks when she handed him the sandwich she made, Emily even offered him a pop to drink. That earned her a suspicious look and wouldn't eat until she took a bite of her own sandwich to prove it wasn't poisoned or tainted with something disgusting.

The action appeased Sam and he practically devoured his sandwich, which makes sense. He worked off a _lot_ of calories earlier. He finished his sandwich and stared at hers with puppy eyes. Emily handed it over without hesitation. Damn, he has some pretty powerful puppy eyes. Sam could teach her a thing or two. If she concentrated enough she could probably copy Sam's eyes.

The hunter probably won't like that. He just might kill her for it. Sam has a wicked temper that is easily set off.

Or maybe it's just her he's like that with.

Sam really does seem to adore Jess. He wouldn't hurt a fly around her, but woe to anyone who'd dare say anything mean or derogatory about Jessica Moore. The dangerous predator that Sam hides comes out and many a-people back off when confronted over his girlfriend's honor.

Emily wondered how Dean looks to others when he doesn't bother hiding the predator inside him.

She only got a glimpse when he was hunting her but his heart wasn't in it. Dean seemed to acting on autopilot when they first met, and add to the fact their fight wasn't as epic or as fight to the death as it should have been, Emily feels like she got robbed in being terrified of a hunter. She grew up hearing all these horror stories about hunters, and the hunter she got was a brokenhearted one.

Kind of a letdown after everything she's heard about them. Not that she can blame Dean, McGarrett was just as heartbroken as the hunter. Those two are so gone on each other, she couldn't see how those two dumbasses thought that they were the only ones with their hearts trampled on the ground.

Three hours pass before Sam locked her in the guest room and he himself went to bed. Emily's a little sick of wearing borrowed clothes that are slightly too big on her, she hopes Dean'll stop at either a thrift store or vintage shop and buy her some clothes that actually fit.

Emily is awoken by Sam slapping her with the pillow she'd been hugging in her sleep.

"Get your ass up," Sam told her. "Dad and Dean are a few miles out. They'll be here in a couple of minutes. Make yourself look presentable. I want to see Dad's face when he realizes what and who you are."

Sam's smile is dark and Emily wishes with all her heart that she never left Detective Williams' house.

This is going to be a bloodbath.

 **ALK**

Dean felt off. He's been feeling like that since last week, and for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why he feels like this. He's half tempted to go see a psychic and get a read on this feeling of off-ness. He's not that desperate yet.

Yet.

Seeing Sam will hopefully push the feeling away and he can focus on clipping the sasquatch upside the head for being a goddamn busybody and to show he's not mad at the big goof anymore. Sam's eyes will mist up and he'd try to hug Dean and talk about _feelings_ about how sorry he is about his part in Dean and Steve breaking up, and Dean'll have to go for a walk or something before he does something he'll regret, like punching the big girl for bringing _that_ up. The subject of Steve will not be brought up, at all for the next couple of lifetimes.

Not that Sam'll listen to the unspoken order. Dean should have never let him watch _Dr. Phil_ and _Oprah._ He knew someday that letting Sam watch those shows would bite him in the ass.

His dad steered the Impala down Sam's street and found a parking spot right in front of the big lug's apartment complex. Squinting against the bright California sun, Dean pushed his sunglasses further up his nose in an attempt to block out the seriously bright star. It was moot but Dean is a stubborn son of a bitch and he all put pressed the sunglasses into his face.

"You know the apartment number?" Dean asked his dad.

John nodded and lead the way to his youngest's temporary home, knowing full well Dean is right on his heels. They didn't bother locking the car, anyone who'd dare steal it would be in a world of surprises when they opened the trunk, and then they'd face three incredibly pissed off hunters. The Impala was practically Dean and Sam's home growing up. Neither of them would be happy with the theft.

The apartment complex is as drab as a prison. Hell, the place was in prison gray! The complex is small, maybe six apartments in the building, and John hopes like hell the apartments are bigger than the dimensions of the building suggest. And a hell of a lot cleaner.

Drab hallways with what looked like shitty lighting, kind of hard to tell in the daylight and with all the windows, had Dean suddenly worried about Sam's safety in this building. He and their dad are going to have to do some basic protection wards around Sam's place later on. He's not letting his little brother live in a place that isn't sufficiently warded.

"Jesus, who the hell designed this place?" his dad grumbled loud enough for Dean to hear.

John went up the stairs and turned right to Sam's apartment, _4B_ , and rapped hard on the door. They could hear two distinct sets of footprints on the other side of the door, one sounded lighter than the other.

Holy shit. Sam has a woman in there.

Dean and his dad shared a look that had John knocking on the door harder. Is the mysterious girlfriend in there? Do they finally get to meet her? Or is it someone who is _not_ Sam's girlfriend?

Ooh, drama! ...Okay, give Dean a break. All that was playing was MTV garbage at the hotel last night. He's still in the mindset of over dramatic MTV teens and young adults. It's a terrifying mindset. He doesn't like it.

Dean and John decide to give Sam a minute before they pick the lock and let themselves in, parading around like they own the place and embarrass the shit out of Sammy. They shared amused smiles and patiently counted down from 60, and just as they hit the teens, Sam threw the door open with more force than was warranted, an odd anticipatory smile on his face. He almost looked gleeful, if only his smile wasn't as twisted as Sam is currently sporting.

"Uh, hey, Sammy," Dean said slowly, and he swore the saw a shadow in the guest room jolt at the sound of his voice. "Whatcha doing?"

Sam's twisted smile grew wider. "Nothing. Come on in. There's someone I want you two to meet." He gestured for them to come in and showed them the couch to sit on. He gave that odd smile again before striding to the closed bedroom door, he placed himself between them and the other side of the door, and spoke in quiet, hushed tones.

There seemed to be an argument happening between Sam and the mysterious woman. Thankfully, neither Dean nor their dad were bothered by a couple having a row. They've seen it many times on hunts.

They tried to listen in but Sam was smarter than that and he kept his voice low.

Sam seemed to have won the argument because a plain looking woman, kind of mousy really, followed Sam into the living room. There's something familiar about the woman, even though Dean knew he'd never met her before, but he swears he's seen her somewhere. He found himself staring at her intently, much to Sam's growing amusement and vindication that the shapeshifter had been telling the truth.

Their dad frowned hard at the woman. Sam could practically hear their dad's mind whirring to place the woman, trying to figure out why she's here and why Sam is staring at them with gleeful intent, like he was waiting for a certain reaction from them.

Dean got up off the couch and took a step towards the woman, who remained where she stood. She did not, however, look him in the eye.

"I know you," Dean said slowly. "How do I know you?"

He stepped closer, now a foot away from the woman, who still refused to meet his gaze. Dean reached out and tipped her head up so they could make eye contact. The second, the _second_ , her eyes met Dean's, his eyes widened in recognition and stumbled back a few steps. Their dad made the same realization and was up on his feet, silver knife in hand, lunging forward to stab the 'shifter in the heart.

Dean reacted fast and twisted their dad's wrist hard so he'd either let the knife go or risk breaking his wrist, and body checked him away from the 'shifter once he dropped the knife. Stepping between their dad and "Daniel", or whatever he/she's going by now, Dean took a defensive stance, ready to defend his friend.

Their dad glared at Dean, anger hot enough that Dean could feel the heat wafting off of him, but he didn't back down. He thought Daniel was safe on the island, away from his family.

Sam surprised them by laughing, and not the amused yet nervous laugh but a maniacal one that had the hairs on the back of Dean's neck standing up. Even their dad looked unsettled with the sight of Sam doubled over, laughing like a madman.

"I knew it!" Sam said between laughs. "I fucking knew it. You know her! You even slept with her!" Sam's face twisted into a moue of disgust, making their dad snort in amusement. "I can't believe you slept with it. That's disgusting, Dean."

"Fuck you, Samantha," Dean shot back automatically. He turned to 'Daniel' and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Scared but fine," she replied.

Dean made sure to keep "Daniel" behind him as he shuffled towards the door, just in case "Daniel" needed a quick get away from his dad. Their dad followed step for step, his gaze locked on his prey, and judging by "Daniel" crowding in close, undoubtedly knowing exactly what Dean's dad is thinking.

"What the hell is going on, Sam?" Dean demanded, not taking his eyes off their dad. He'll strike as soon as Dean is distracted. Dean's not losing "Daniel" like that.

Sam finally quit laughing but he still broke out in giggles every now and then.

"Dad sent me on a revenge mission to kick McGarrett's ass, and I'm guessing so he would quit looking for you, and that you would return to being Dad's good little soldier when you realized McGarrett wasn't coming after you anymore. And I'm guessing he told me about Emily here," he gestured towards the shapeshifter, "so I'd kill it because Dad was disgusted by the fact you actually care for it."

Sam's face twisted in disgust again. He mouthed 'Dude, nasty' at Dean before speaking, "And for what it's worth, Dean, I _am_ sorry for my part in yours and McGarrett's break-up."

He looked so damn earnest it took everything in Dean not to go give the baby Sasquatch a hug. He so much as twitches an inch, their dad is going in for the kill. Dean knows their dad has more than one silver knife on him, it'd be really dumb if he actually did have only one silver weapon on him. It would make Sam and Dean think there's something seriously off with their dad if that happened.

"It's fine, Sammy," Dean said, catching Sam's eye for a brief second to show he means it. He quickly switched his gaze back to their dad. "I forgive you, but I'm still so fucking pissed at you."

Sam deflated in the corner of his eye. Dean wanted to take it back, to say they're good, but he couldn't. The one thing he learned for sure from his time in Oahu and with Steve, is that it's okay to still be mad at his family for any hurt they inflict upon him, accidental or not. He doesn't have to automatically play nice whenever his dad and brother need him to.

Their dad's body language screamed anger but it didn't show on his face. With coiled muscles ready to spring into action, and a certain rigidness in his posture, Dean knew their dad was furious with being found out.

Dean wanted to hit him. Scream at him. Demand why he's hellbent on hurting Dean, on keeping Dean to himself like a selfish asshole. But he didn't. Dean matched his dad glare for glare, the entire atmosphere in the room turned into a powder keg, waiting for someone to set it off, and for once, Dean is going to be the one to do so.

Without breaking eye contact with his dad, Dean said, "Emily, I want you to run. Now. Hide. Keep yourself safe. I taught you how to take care of yourself."

"Dean," Emily started, tears in her voice, but Dean broke in, "No. Go. Emily, just go."

Dean felt her touch his shoulder, feather-light, before she ran out the door. Their dad surged forward to chase after her but Dean threw a punch at him, forcing him to turn at the last second and take a glancing blow on the cheek. Their dad crashed into the far wall, hand on his cheek in disbelief as he stared at Dean.

"Stay away from her," Dean growled out. "Stay away from her and I promise I won't leave."

Their dad had a snarl on his face, his chest heaved with barely contained anger, but he gave a curt nod.

"Sam, get your shit," their dad ordered. "Now!" he yelled when Sam didn't move.

Sam jolted into movement and grabbed his bag, edging around the two snarling elder Winchesters, and out to the relative safety of the Impala. He may have fucked up. Big.

 **ALK**

John wanted to slap the shit out of Sam for not killing that thing when he told him to. The only good thing to come out of it was Dean's promise to follow orders again, if he didn't go after that damn creature. Fine. No worries. He'll find it again and give it a slow, painful death.

The car ride to Pastor Jim's was tense and quiet. Not even music was playing. Dean sat in the passenger seat, hunched in as small as he can get like he was trying to get as much distance as he can from either of them. John couldn't blame him. Oh, he wanted to. He wanted to tell Dean to quit being a baby and he wanted to tell Sam to grow the hell up, but he didn't because Dean is already so mad at them. John doesn't want to make it worse.

They only stopped for gas and food. Sam looked like he wanted to complain about being in the backseat where his knees were up to his ears but one look at his brother's hunched in form had him shutting his mouth. Yeah, Sammy, we both fucked up.

Pastor Jim is going to be pissed when he sees Dean's defeated posture. The man always had a soft spot for his boys, especially Dean.

They might have to find a new place to stay.

He wonders if Bobby is still mad at him. He can always use Dean as an excuse to stay with the old bastard. Bobby'd never turn Dean down if he asked to stay there. Hell, John would even apologize if it meant having a place for him and his boys to patch up their bonds. But then again, at least Pastor Jim would know when to leave them alone. Bobby? Not so much. Damn man thinks John's boys are his, and gets to have an opinion on how they should be raised.

Pastor Jim was waiting for them when they arrived late into the night. He had a smile on his face when saw Sam get out of the car. Sam smiled back and all but ran to the man and gave him a great, big bear hug, making the pastor let out a surprised, "Oof!"

"Hello, Samuel," Pastor Jim greeted. "It's nice to see you again."

"You, too, sir," Sam greeted back. He let out a jaw popping yawn that had Pastor Jim shooing him into the house and into his room to sleep.

Pastor Jim's smile faded when he saw John's angry posture and Dean's defeated one.

"What did you do?" he demanded John.

John tilted his chin up in defiance. They glared at one another for a long time, both ignoring Dean standing on John's right, his usual position when their father is confronted by an enemy. At the ready to defend him, and the sight would have sent a sick feeling to his stomach if he had bothered to take a look at Dean's face.

It was blank, no emotion. Lights on but no one's home, if someone looked him in the eyes.

But he didn't. All Jim was focused on was John fucking Winchester. Why is he surprised that John did something that upset his boys? He does wonder what he did this time though. Must be pretty bad if Sam isn't even arguing with his dad at every chance he gets.

"None of your concern," John snapped, and Pastor Jim pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Dean, go inside son. Rest," Pastor Jim. "I'm sure you're tired."

Dean didn't move. He didn't even blink, remaining at attention like a good soldier. A shiver of foreboding slithered its way down Jim's spine at Dean's actions, or lack thereof.

"Dean, son, are you okay?" Jim asked gently, turning his full attention to the young hunter. Dean's more important than a pissing contest with John. "Dean, can you hear me?" He reached out to touch Dean's arm, only to be intercepted by John.

"He's fine. Dean, go rest." And just like that, Dean moved, following orders with no hesitation.

"What have you done?" Jim asked again, this time less angry and more concerned.

John waited until Dean was inside before answering with a loud, tired sigh. "Getting my family back."

"And what does that mean?"

"They're back under my protection. Sam's recent screw up ensures that Sam won't leave again. He won't leave until he's made it up to Dean, and Dean won't be forgiving him any time soon."

The bastard actually looked pleased about that, but Jim spies guilt swimming in John's eyes.

"How can you do this to Dean? He's the only one that stuck by you through everything."

"I know!" John exploded. He paced in front of Jim, gesticulating wildly. "I know that! But he left me a year ago. He planned on staying there, Jim. He planned on staying away from me."

John pressed his palms against his eyes hard enough he saw stars behind his eye lids before scrubbing his face with them.

"McGarrett was stealing my son away from me. I had to do something. Luckily for me, they were already on the way to breaking up, Sam's arrival there only expedited it." He let out a broken laugh. "I hadn't figured on McGarrett and his team going after Dean for as long as they did. It kindled a hope that maybe McGarrett might actually love him... and I think he might."

John felt guilt slam into again. He's ruining a chance for real happiness for his son because he's a selfish son of a bitch.

"I think McGarrett truly loves my son but I'm not losing Dean. And that makes me the worst dad in the history of fatherhood. I'm even a worse father than my own." He gave Jim a humorless smile. "He left when I was a kid. Just up and left. Haven't heard from him in years. I'm worse than _that_."

John moved to the porch and sat on the top step. The proud and cocky posture he usually sports is missing.

"I broke my son, Jim. Me and Sam. We broke him. That look on his face. I've seen it before. After Mary died. He wouldn't leave my side and he wouldn't let Sam out of his sight. He wouldn't talk for over a year. The thing with that just happened, I think it was the final straw for Dean," John said, fighting back the sting of tears. He won't cry. He doesn't cry, not even over his son who's in deep emotional pain.

Pain he inflicted without hesitation. He knew Dean shutting down was a possibility when he sent Sam after McGarrett. What he hadn't counted, even though he should have, was Sam going against orders and brought that damn creature back with him.

Confronting him about McGarrett and the shapeshifter, was not Sam's brightest idea. His youngest was so dead set on catching John in the act, he didn't think to think of the impact it would have on Dean, and now Sam is drowning in guilt, which makes him moody and broody. That kind of Sam is not fun to be around, and Dean is the only who can pull Sam out of that funk. That's not going to happen any time soon.

He broke his boys. He's really Henry Winchester's son. He's passing along some great genes there.

Someday, when his boys have their own kids, John prays with all his heart that they won't make the same mistakes he's done. He wants them to love their kids so unconditionally, that the very thought of bringing them pain is anathema to them. The way it should be. The way John should have been to his boys.

"Then what are you going to do?" Pastor Jim asked. "Your boys are not okay, John. What are you going to do to make things better?"

"I'm going to give them a week to get their heads on right before I take them hunting," John replied. "It's the only thing that I know for sure that will bring Dean out of his mindset, maybe even repair a burned bridge or two."

"And what about Sam?"

"Sam will come out of his funk when he sees Dean acting somewhat normally."

"What if Dean doesn't get his head on straight? What if it takes him a year before he speaks again? What are you going to do then?"

"I'll think of something."

"That sounds encouraging," Jim said dryly, earning a quelling look from John. "But seriously, John, what are you going to do about Dean? You can't handle Sam on your own. You've admitted that Dean is the only one to bring Samuel out of his funk, what are you going to do if Dean doesn't get better? You and Sam might have to grow up and take care of him."

John growled in frustration. "Don't you think I know that?"

"Knowing is one thing, John. What are you _going to do about it_?"

"I'll think of something," he repeated.

Pastor Jim didn't reply. They'll just end up going in an endless circle because John is a stubborn and pigheaded son of a bitch. The only thing he can count on is that John does actually love his boys to death, that he'd do anything for them. He only hopes that he'll pull his head out of his ass before Dean is lost to them.

The Dean they get back might not be the Dean they know. John might have to contact a certain person, the very person he'd been trying to keep his son away from. Pastor him hopes he's there when John makes that realization.

It would be quite the show


	10. Chapter 10

**Holy crap! I thought I posted this weeks ago. My bad.**

* * *

Steve let out a growl of frustration when his geographical profile of possible hunter locations came up with a location in the middle of nowhere. Literally. Nothing but miles of empty fields. Not a lake in sight. What. The. Hell.

He must be doing something wrong, but what? Double, even triple checking, Steve tried once more to find a central location by crunching the numbers again that could point him to one of Dean's hunter friends. Maybe he screwed up with the math. He does think he's getting close to finding a hunter though. Steve sighed explosively before crunching the numbers again and came up with an actual town this time: Blue Earth.

Fuck it. He's going there. It's the best he has at this point.

Steve took down all the news clipping he had on the hotel wall and carefully packed them up because he might be wrong about Blue Earth. It's just easier to have everything ready to be tacked up should that happen but he doesn't think he's wrong. The place _feels_ like it's the right one. He just hopes he's not too late.

The eleven hours it took for Steve to drive to Blue Earth felt longer than it should have. He made minimal stops but it still feels like it took him days instead of hours. Nerves maybe? Making the drive feel like he was in a time dilation field where seconds took hours, minutes took days, and hours took years. Kind of like being near the core of a black hole. He's stretching into infinity, dying molecule by molecule without noticing because time moves so slowly, eons could pass before he moves a single centimeter, and that centimeter could be his last.

Huffing out a laugh, Steve shook his head and promised that if Blue Earth doesn't pan out, he'd take a couple days to rest before continuing his search for his missing boyfriend. He's not giving up, and there's a part of him that is thrilled at the thought of finding Dean by using his smarts and knowledge of the hunter's way of thinking.

He's hunting the hunter.

Pulling into the first hotel he sees, Steve decided to wash off the smell of the road and a rental that seriously needs to be aired out. Once he's all washed up, he'll check out the local library and maybe talk to the local church dude/person about anyone who stands out as a loner and really loves guns.

...Okay, he'll work on wording his questions before hand. Because what he just said didn't really narrow down the suspect pool, in fact, the question might actually put a target on the loner types who like to hunt - game, not monsters. Danny and Chin worked hard for Steve to tactfully ask questions when looking for a suspect. They still won't let him live it down that his line of questioning lead them chasing down every single amateur hunter on the entire island chain when their suspect wasn't even a hunter. Man, never touched a gun in his life. Not even a potato gun!

His team wasn't happy with him for a month and made him do all the paper work. But he's a fast learner and was real careful how he worded his questions after that.

The room was cool and clean, kind of small though. It does not bode well for the bathroom. If it's no bigger than a broom closet, Steve's trying a new hotel because he's not showering in a glass coffin. With trepidation, Steve opened the bathroom door and felt his jaw drop open in surprise.

The damn bathroom is almost as big as the actual room. Thank god. Steve quickly stripped out of his smelly clothes, turned on the shower, turning the knobs until the temperature was just right before stepping under the hot spray of water. He let out a groan of appreciation at the feeling of hot cascading water down his tired and sore body. One wouldn't think that sitting in a car damn near all the time wouldn't be so taxing on his muscles, but the lower half of his body is loudly voicing its complaints.

He stood under the spray for a couple of minutes, enjoying the feeling before he got to work cleaning the grime of the road of his body. His skin turned pink from the heat of the water and the vigorous scrubbing he was giving it.

A memory of Dean showering, not anything special about it. It was just a normal day, Dean getting ready for work and Steve, on the rarest of days, had the morning off, and Steve watched him with sleepy eyes, endulging in this moment of domesticity. Dean grinned at him through the shower before washing off the soap he lathered up, making the room smell crisp like morning rain in the mountains. He has no idea what brand of soap it is or what it's even called but the smell of rain always reminds him of Dean, which is a problem because it rains a lot in Hawaii.

He's doing the right thing, he knows he is. With his head all messed up, Steve could put his team in harm's way, but it doesn't stop him feeling like he's running away. He's not. He has every intention of going back to the islands, with or without Dean in tow.

Steve grimaced when he found a towel that wasn't as clean as it should be. The hotel cleaning staff get a _D_ on cleanliness of towels.

Tossing the still dirty towel on the ground, Steve made sure the next one didn't have any suspicious spots on it before wiping the water of his face with it and the rest of his body. He used a different towel to dry off his hair and placed both of them back on the towel rack to use again later.

Jaw popping from a monstrous yawn, Steve debated taking a cat nap so he'd be refreshed for the upcoming line of questioning about any possible hunters being the area. He'll need to look respectable so his questions won't be seem as crazy as they are. He learned that little tidbit through Dean's stories of questioning grieving families and hysterical witnesses. They're more likely to speak openly with an understanding ear and with someone who doesn't think they're nutso.

He's going to have to remember he won't have Chin and Kono so smooth things over for him should he inadvertantly insult them or hurt their feelings. He's still working on his bedside manner.

Rome wasn't built in a day.

 **ALK**

Steve felt like slamming his head against his rental's steering wheel. People are keeping thier mouths shut and shooting him suspicious glares. It's not like he can tell them he's looking for a hunter to talk to, they'll think he's after the hunter for legal reasons, and not to apologize for being a dumbass to his boyfriend.

A couple who were being plagued by a poltergeist all but slammed their door in his face when they realized his line of questioning were heading. The couple did, however, reveal that they told their problem to the local pastor, needing _someone_ to know and to tell them they're not crazy. And not a couple of days later their problem went away, according to article Steve found about a grave desecration. They've been devout parishoners ever since and donate a lot of money each Sunday.

Even Steve's questionable math skills could put 2 + 2 together.

A yawn threatened to escape and Steve took another drink of coffee to keep him awake. If he leaves now, no detours, he can make it to the church and have a quick conversation with this pastor. Might even get a lead on where Dean is.

Exhaustion ate at him, but not the physical kind, he's used to that one, but more of the emotional kind. He's not as practiced at emotional exhaustion and it's kicking his ass.

Steve rubbed the sleep from his eyes before starting up his beige rental and drove to the local church, finding a parking spot was surprisingly hard to do. He checked the calender to make sure it wasn't Sunday because he doesn't think he lost a day but then again, he has been out of it this past week. Or would it be two days? Okay, so maybe Steve lost time somewhere.

Spotting a parking spot near the back of the church, Steve pulled in and decided to wait in his car until whatever's going on ended. He's not crashing a possible funeral. His parents taught him better than that. Or he taught himself. His memories of his parents are tinged with hurt and betrayal to be certain who taught him that.

Hell, for all he knows, he learned it from Mary.

An hour passes before people start to exit the church, and it's another thirty before the stragglers and gossipers leave the parking lot and allow Steve to find the pastor. If he's lucky, Steve could be in bed in the next hour. The siren call his hotel bed was making is a hard song to ignore, even for a SEAL who's been trained to ignore exhaustion until the mission is complete. After that, he can crash for as long as he wants or until he gets assigned a new mission. He feels like he's in the middle of the most gruelling mission of his life. He'll be able to rest soon.

As in sleep. Not in peace. He will not be resting in peace anytime in the near future.

Steve shook his head again. His mind wandered from the original path... and for the life of him he can't remember what he was just thinking about. Dean related? Nah, if it was he would remember. At least he thinks. Steve's memory at this point in time should not be trusted.

Wait. Did his last thought structure make any sense? Steve's blanking out. God, he must be tired. Okay, okay. After speaking to the pastor, Steve is sleeping for a solid day with no interruptions.

Emotional exhaustion is no joke.

Steve waited until the last car pulled out of the parking lot and its tail lights disappeared down the street, and no other car was in sight. Perfect. Hopefully that'll mean he'll have uninterrrupted time to ask the pastor all the questions he can about Dean and his whereabouts.

Taking a minute to make sure he doesn't look like he slept in his car, Steve walked through the church doors and found an empty church. No one is in the front room. Maybe the pastor is in the back, that's where they sleep, right? Steve's knowledge of the church is slim. His family wasn't that big into religion when he was a kid and he hadn't seen the need to find God when he was on his most grueling and dangerous missions that made him question whether or not he's doing the right thing and seemed to last for a life time. So why start now?

"Hello?" Steve called out hesitantly. The doors creaked shut behind him, and he did _not_ jump when they did.

His footsteps didn't make a sound on the carpeted interior. The stained glass windows depicted angels and the fall of Lucifer, and further on down an angel stood fiercely in front of a human bathed in white, protecting him against dark shadows, which Steve assumed was demons. They were pressing in on all sides but the angel's expression spoke of defiance and held a wild ferocity that Steve himself wore when he found himself in the midst of battle with bloodlust singing through his veins.

That expression spoke of a warrior willing to fight until his last breath.

Steve found himself under the stained glass, hand reaching up to touch it when he heard someone clear their voice behind him. Jerking back as if burned, Steve spun around to see an older man staring at him with a peculiar expression.

"Hello," the man greeted. He came to stand next to Steve and the stained glass window. He stared up at the window and had a smile on his face. "The Righteous Man," the man told him. "It is said that the angels when come when the Righteous Man is needed. Of course, that's not good for us," he said with a wink.

"Why not?" asked Steve, his gaze switched from the man back to the window.

"Because when the Righteous Man is needed, the end is nigh," he said with a teasing grin. "Lucifer will be freed and he and Michael will battle for dominion for Earth."

Steve frowned. "What's that have to do with the Righteous Man?"

"He will be Michael's greatest weapon. Or so the texts say. I, for one, think he will be the one that holds our fate in his hands." The pastor, Steve is assuming, stared at the picture with something akin to wistfulness and slight apprehension. "The final battle will be fought between brothers and sisters, and it will be brutal. The Righteous Man is key to that. The funny thing about all the biblical texts I've read on the subject, none of the authors, not even Metatron, know exactly what the purpous of the Righteous Man will be.

"A weapon, but how? How will this man decide our fates? What exactly is he a key to? There are so many questions I have about the subject but no one seems to have any answers. My prayers have gone unanswered." The pastor sighed and gave Steve a wan smile. "Apologies. I've been dealing with some family problems. I should not be placing my questions of God's plan on you. Is there something I can help you with?"

Steve shrugged off the pastor's words. "I'm looking for someone. I'm hoping you know where he is."

"Oh?" the pastor said, intrigued. "And who are you looking for?"

"Dean Winchester."

"Oh." This time the pastor's tone sounded hesitant.

Bingo, Steve thought with a hidden grin.

"And what do you want with this person?" the pastor asked with forced nonchalance. Steve didn't buy his act for a second. This is the person that Dean's friends with.

"His father stole him away from me, with the help of his demonic giant of a younger brother, and I would like him back," Steve said simply. "I don't think they're saying very nice things about me to him and I'd like to have a chance to defend myself against their accusations."

The pastor sighed tiredly. "You're McGarrett."

"I'm McGarrett."

"John told me what he did."

"And? Will you tell me where Dean is? I really need to find him and apologize," Steve said earnestly. "Plus, I think getting Dean away from his family would be in his best interest."

The pastor sighed again. "It would," he agreed, "but I honestly have no idea where they are. They left a week ago without warning. I woke up to an empty house and no note as to where they were going. Both of those boys are not in the right headspace. John's taking advantage of that."

Steve let out a growl of frustration.

"You know, the more I hear about John Winchester, the less I like him. At first I gave him the benefit of the the doubt but the more stories Dean told about his childhood, the less inclined I was to be lenient with Dean's dad's decisions. If Dean really isn't in the right mindset, then it's imperative that I find him and extract him."

The pastor smiled at Steve but it was tinged with something dark. "Taking away John Winchester's son may not end well for any of you. John loves those boys more than he loves himself."

"That isn't saying much," Steve cut in, earning an amused smirk and a nod of agreement.

"True, but John will go to the ends of the earth for his boys, and he'll take any enemy head on without hesitation. He thinks the best place for them is with him. He's dead set on keeping his boys safe."

"But Dean was safe with _me_ ," Steve argued. "He was happy. We were happy."

"And," the pastor prompted gently.

"And then we weren't," admitted Steve sadly. "I don't know why Dean started keeping things from me, becoming closer with my partner, and pulling away from me. I felt him pulling away but I didn't do anything about it until it was too late. Our wires got crossed or something." Steve ran his hands through his hair and focused on window with the Righteous Man. "Sam showing up didn't help the situation at all. In fact, Sam made it worse. On purpose. But when he finally decided to do the right thing with Dean, it was too late." Steve sighed. "Dean opened his heart to me, and I laughed. Bad timing on my part," he admitted sheepishly.

"You laughed," the pastor repeated incredulously. He knows Dean, and Dean opening up like that is a miracle in itself. "I have half a mind to slap you upside the head."

Steve gave a small chuckle. "I would deserve it," he admitted freely.

"But you weren't the only one at fault, were you?"

"No. Dean hid things from me instead of talking about it. We both messed up."

The pastor stared at him with an unidentifiable emotion. It had Steve fighting the urge to look away and shift his weight in a fit of nerves, but something in him said hold his ground, it might pay off. The pastor grinned in approval.

"John's looking for an easy hunt to ease the boys back into the rhythm of hunting together again. I over heard him talking to Dean about a possible hunt in Nebraska. A salt-and-burn, I think. Easy for a couple of experienced hunters, even if one of them hasn't hunted in a year."

"Sam went on a hunt a couple months ago," Steve corrected bitterly.

Steve tensed when the pastor placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder but he didn't shrug it off or move away.

"Sam was never good at sharing his brother's attention," the pastor grinned, his eyes fond and far away, recalling a memory of two little boys galavanting around his house. "He pouted and threw a fit when he realized Dean was interested in something else. Dean always responded to Sam's tantrums. I should have realized it would come to bite Dean in the ass when he got older."

"So should've Dean."

Silence fell for a second before the pastor admitted, "So he should have."

They stared at the Righteous Man, each absorbed in their own thoughts of the middle Winchester.

The pastor's story of the Righteous Man settled in Steve's mind like a warm blanket, coating every square inch. For some reason he thought of Dean when the pastor weaved the tale, and it fit the narrative well. Steve liked the idea of an angel watching over his hunter, but he wouldn't want the destiny of the Righteous Man on Dean's shoulders.

Just, no.

"Nebraska, huh?" Steve said, breaking the silence. The pastor nodded his head. "Well, that narrows it down."

Huffing a laugh, the pastor turned and held out his hand for Steve to shake. "It was very nice meeting you, McGarrett."

"It was nice meeting you, too, Pastor..." Steve trailed off, unsure if the man introduced himself or not.

"Jim. I'm Pastor Jim," he introduced himself. "I apologize. I thought I told you my name." He frowned and shook his head. "The situation with the Winchesters has really turned my head. I don't like seeing either of those boys hurt, be it emotional or physical or both."

Was that last statement pointed? It sounded pointed to Steve.

"Nebraska is the only information I have for you, McGarrett."

Steve nodded. "I'll be off." He has a lot of planning to do. And sleep. Sleep is very much of a need right now. Sleep is good. Sleep is his friend. ...He is babbling to himself and not very coherently at that. Great, he's confusing his own mind with thoughts that are kind of babble-y.

"Bed," Steve said suddenly. He shook Pastor Jim's hand again before strutting towards the doors and threw them open, breathing in the night air and even said a mental hello to Mars, an old friend of his that got him through the Navy and some tours that he'd rather not think about when he's this exhausted. Any defenses he has will be at an all time low, nightmares will run rampant and he'd have no control over them. He'd be left at their mercy and they are not merciful.

 **ALK**

Steve rolled his neck to work out the kinks, his shoulders still felt tense. He has no recollection of of the drive back to the hotel, nor him getting ready for bed. He just woke up well rested two days later. He freaking slept for two days!

The memory of leaving the church and Pastor Jim also elude him.

He hopes he didn't make too much of a fool of himself. He'd hate to think he embarrassed himself in front of Dean's friend, he wanted to make a good impression with the man, and he's not sure he pulled it off. Steve never should have gone to see the pastor while he's all loopy from exhaustion, he probably made the pastor think he wasn't the brightest casing in the clip.

Stretching, Steve let out a pleased groan when that delicious tingly feeling that accompanies the act radiated throughout his body. He'd been sitting too long.

Research for anything that goes bump in the night is a lot harder than he thought it would be. He's done research before, and finding terrorists in caves is a lot easier than what he's looking for. Who knew hunting for monsters and ghost would be so difficult?

The thing is, Steve has no idea if the articles he found are bizarre accidents, crackpot stories, actual animal attacks, or if it is the work of supernatural creatures. He's so out of depth in this but he's not giving up. All he needs to find is one confirmable hunt and then he'd know just what to look for next time, at least for that particular creature. There's also a surprsingly amount of deaths that are just straight up unexplainable.

How in the hell does Dean know what's a hunt and what isn't?

God, he really wishes Dean didn't quit hunting when they were living together, at least then Steve would know what the hell to look for. He wouldn't be floundering so much if he had some basic knowledge to work with.

Oh great, he's blaming Dean for not knowing how to pick out hunts in news articles. Can he get any lower?

Please, the Universe, don't answer that. He's being rhetorical.

 _Man Dies Alone in Locked Room_. Hmm, sounds promising. Could be a ghost or something of the like. Steve might have found a hunt. Something at least that might interest Dean or his family.

His next port-of-call: Nebraska.

 **ALK**

John swore loudly when the hunt they were on turned out to be a practical joke gone wrong.

 _Stupid ass frat boys,_ John thought darkly. Nebraska is a bust, and his boys are getting antsy. Well, at least Sam is, he has that look about him that is just itching to kill something. Not that Sam'll ever admit it. Oh no, Sam is _above_ such compulsions. It is beneath him to feel the siren song of bloodlust because he is a "civilized" person who has no such urging to sate the desire to kill.

Dean really should have let him train Sam as he trained Dean because if John had trained Sam how he wanted to, Sam wouldn't be such a spoiled brat.

...That sounds likes one of those tongue twisters.

As for Dean, he hasn't said a goddamn word. He follows orders without hesitation or questions. He cleans their weapons without being asked, finds the best places to eat for them, finds lodgings that won't make them feel like they're in a Hitchcock film, and John is starting to go crazy from his obedience.

It's different when Dean _chooses_ to obey John's every order, it's another thing when he's doing it as a defense mechanism. Not that John and Sam don't deserve it.

For the life of him, John cannot remember what pulled Dean out of his muteness the first time around. He's been racking his brain since the night they picked Sam up from Stanford and Dean barely even grumbled at them.

He's not even sure Dean's doing it as a defensive mechanism, he might be doing it as a new form of punishment for John and Sam, and it's working. Sam has been going out of his way to make Dean talk to him, even volunteering to do food runs or research so Dean could relax. Hell, at one hotel, Sam offered to sleep on the tiny couch so Dean wouldn't have to share the bed or be relegated to the couch instead. Say what you will about Dean, but he is damn good at tugging at the guilt he and Sam are harboring.

John even bought Dean a brand new handgun with an ivory handle. The only reaction he got was a small - minute really - smile of thanks.

It was the most positive reaction he got out of his oldest in a few days.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, John sighed loudly before pulling into Dean's favorite burger joint to get his boys dinner. Sam won't like it but that's just fine with John. Dean's the one he wants happy, a first, yes, he knows, and he knows just how fucked up that is. Tomorrow Sam can do the food run if he wants to complain. In fact, he can do _all_ the food runs for all John cares.

He just wants Dean to say one goddamn word to him. Anything! Anything at all.

Just say _something_.

 **ALK**

Dean waited until Sam and their dad left before letting out a low chuckle. Oh god, he should have thought of this years ago. They're actually getting along and basically mollycoddling him, although they'll never admit it. It's nice. Different but nice.

Plus, Dean got a new gun. God, he loves it!

If only he knew giving them this brand of silent treatment would have gotten a new gun and getting his favorite foods, he so would have done this every time they fought. They would have made up and done their best to make Dean speak to them again.

The idea popped into his head somewhere in Wyoming. Despite what his dad thinks, Dean does remember the first year after his mom died, and he remembers not speaking because every time he tried, the words just went away. He also remembers how his dad, despite hurting from the loss of his wife, did everything he could to make Dean feel safe again and did his best to take care of Sammy on top of trying to put their lives back together.

There is a reason why Dean, for so long, thought his dad was a superhero. He remembers everything his dad did for them their first year without mom. Even after he found out about demons and monsters and such, his dad made them feel safe for a little while.

His need for vengeance is what ruined it. They could have had a happy life. Dad could have found another wife and he and Sam would have been happy and safe and oblivious to the paranormal.

But they would have also been easy pray for monsters and demons. It's a catch-22 situation.

Once marked by supernatural forces, they're marked for life. If their dad buried his head in the sand, who knows what could have happened to him and Sam while growing up. They could have been perfectly fine or they could have been killed. And that's the reason Dean doesn't blame their dad for raising how he did. They're alive because of that and they know how to handle themselves with monsters and such.

But for the love of God, Dad really needs to learn how to loosen the reins just a smidge.

He was doing great by letting Sam remain in school instead of pulling him out and locking him at Bobby's or Caleb's house and by letting Dean stay in Hawaii for over a year. Maybe that's why he's freaking out so much now. He barely leaves them alone now. Hell, Sam leaving in a huff prompted John to take off after him, after internally debating about leaving Dean all alone, like, where would Dean go? They're taking the Impala, and he ain't walking anywhere. Not in this town. Besides, there's nothing to do here. Even the bar looks boring.

Dean pulled out his cellphone, scrolled down to Steve's contact, tapped the messaging button, and just stared at it, unsure what to write. He misses Steve like nothing else. Why did he have to act like such a baby? He could be happy back in Oahu.

The time on his phone tells him he would be working the afternoon lull at Kamekona's. He and Catherine would most likely be planning their next hiking adventure for the weekend. Chin and Kono would be working on teaching him how to ride a motorcycle and surfing, respectively. Not that Chin can't surf but Kono _was_ a surfing champion.

He and Danny would be bickering over football and Grace would be filming them before posting the video online for everyone's amusement. And he and Steve would be indulging in domestic bliss.

Why the fuck did he overreact? Why would he pull away from Steve and grow closer with Danny? God, he was such an ass back then. He should just leave. Withdraw all of Roman Cahill's money and buy a one-way ticket to Oahu and beg for foregiveness. He'd do anything to get his _ohana_ back.

Dean sent a short text to Steve: _Marco_.

Barely three seconds after the text was sent, he got messaged back. _Polo_.

A grin broke out on Dean's face. It was wide and happy.

Steve's coming.


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry folks! I've been busy working on my original works and everything fell to the wayside. I apologize. I'm back and plan on trying to get this story done before I work on other things.**

 **And if you're looking for an update for _Stories in My Head_ , the next chapter is almost done. Bear with me.**

* * *

Sam stared at Dean's cellphone. He only meant to look up Caleb's contact number, he lost the other hunter's old one, and he really didn't mean to read Dean's messages to McGarrett. Honestly.

But here he is reading everything Dean's texted to the SEAL, only feeling slight guilt at invading his brother's privacy. It's not like he's reading anything embarrassing or scarring, no need of brain bleach this time. But what he's reading is sending his anger levels through the roof. He won't even imagine what their dad's reaction would be like if he read the texts.

Especially when Dad reads the timestamp. They're all within the past week. Dean has been texting McGarrett since Nebraska, playing an updated version of Marco Polo. He's got to hand it to McGarrett though. The SEAL is getting closer and closer to finding them, using the old "Warmer/Colder" method whenever McGarrett texts a possible location of where Dean's at. More often than not, McGarrett has been getting warmer and warmer. At this rate, the man will find them by the end of the month.

He's grudgingly impressed.

What's pissing him off is that Dean is all but telling McGarrett to come find him and take him back "home". He's basically telling the older man he wants to go back to Hawaii. He wants to leave Sam and their dad to go back to a family he thinks is better.

If this is what Dean felt when Sam left for Stanford, how in the hell is Dean still not mad at him? It _hurts_ to think that Dean would rather be with some other family than with them.

Finding Detective Williams' messages was a bit of a surprise. Sam wonders if McGarrett knows about Dean texting his partner. Those messages seem to be about apologizing for taking off like he did. They even shared some photos with each other, Grace is featured quite often, not that that's surprising. Williams adores his daughter. She's the center of his universe. And Dean adores her as well.

Scrolling down some more, Sam found that Dean's been texting everyone he knows from the islands, apologizing for his actions, and catching up with everything he's missed since he's been gone. Grace is apparently still giving him the cold shoulder. There's a hint of thawing though.

Dean's putting a lot into making things right with them, like he's paving the way for him going back.

Sam needs to digest this and think it through before he confronts Dean about it. Preferably without their dad being there, fat chance of that though. Dad is never far from their side. Even now Dad's standing watch over Dean swimming in the pool, after making sure that Sam won't leave the hotel without telling him first. Not that Sam has any inclination to leave. The hotel is nice. The room is one of the best they've stayed in and the pool has a water slide.

He's tempted to throw on the swim trunks Dad bought them. The purchase had puzzled Sam and Dean, exchanging perplexed looks until they pulled up to the incredibly nice hotel. They could see the pool and had them getting excited like they were kids.

Maybe that's what he should do. Go swimming. Bond with his brother...and their father. It's been so long since they just had fun together.

Decision made, Sam put Dean's phone away and changed into his swim trunks, grabbing their dad's on the way out and made his way down to the pool. He tossed their dad's swim trunks on his head, laughing when he tilted his head at Sam, trunks still covering his head.

"Go change, Dad," Sam said.

Their dad pulled the trunks from off his head and stared at Sam before switching his gaze to Dean, who stared at them questioningly. Dean practically lit up like a Christmas tree when he realized what Sam wanted.

Sam saw the instant their dad agreed to the suggestion. He smiled at them and went upstairs to change. Sam looked at Dean and grinned.

"Cannonball!" he yelled, and hopped into the pool, splashing Dean with a mini tidal wave of water. When Sam popped back up, Dean was grinning at him with a wide, _happy_ smile. It grew even more when their dad dove into the pool, coming up to the surface like a breaching dolphin. He splashed the both of them before taking off towards the slide.

Dean gave chase and pulled their dad back into the pool just before he lifted himself out of the water. Sam swam towards them and dunked Dean just as their dad splashed him. They laughed and shouted, truly enjoying themselves for the first time in forever.

Thank god there wasn't that much people there or they'd be getting weird looks with three grown ass men acting like little kids in the pool.

Sam took a turn on the water slide while Dean floated around adjacent to the water slide and their dad got out to go do something. A thrill of childish exhileration ran through Sam as he whizzed down the slide, laughter bubbling out of him uninhibited. His resulting tidal wave swamped Dean, making him splutter and spit out water, glaring at Sam, who shrugged back at him, unrepentatent.

Their dad came back and dived in.

"Where'd you go?" Sam asked. He swam over to the edge of the pool and relaxed against the wall.

"Called for pizza," their dad answered. "Thought we'd have a nice supper and watch a movie."

Dean laughed in delight, making Sam and John grin goofily. It's the most normal and active Dean's been since Pastor Jim's. Hell, Sam'd do anything to keep Dean happy like this for as long as he can. Because if he does, maybe Dean won't leave them when McGarrett eventually finds them.

Intellectually, Sam knows that even if he and their dad start spoiling Dean and acting like the family his older brother yearns for, it is no guarantee that it'll make Dean change his mind and stay with them. Dean already found a family that welcomed him with open arms and even forgave Dean for some of his transgressions while he lived on the island with them, and, with his accidental snooping, are sounding like they're ready to forgive him again and will let him go back home.

 _Home_.

Dean has a home whereas Sam abandoned his in search of a better one. How is he supposed to have the moral high ground when Sam did to Dean what Dean is doing to him and their dad?

All his older brother ever wanted from him and their dad was to get along and be a family. It didn't bother Dean that they hunted or that they moved from place to place every other month. It never did. He raised Sam, he took care of their dad, and all he asked for in return was for them not to fight as much.

That's it. Not for them to quit fighting but to cut back on it. They could have done that. Easy peasy.

When they couldn't do that, he went off and found a new family. And his new family welcomed him with open arms, found someone who loved him. Who loved him so much that it scared Dean and his brother hit the self-destruct button on everything he had on the island.

He listened to Dean talk about how he started flirting and encouraging Detective Williams feelings for him because he's an emotionally stunted dumbass, and for that he blames their dad. But Dean is doing his best now to patch things up so he could go back to a home that loved him. His brother could thrive there. His brother was healthy, in every way, living on the island.

Sam gets the award for worst brother ever.

The younger Winchester should have told Dean to pull his head out of his ass before he screwed everything up but he didn't because he's a jerk of the highest level and a colossal spoiled child. He just wanted his brother back.

Their dad breached like a whale right beside Sam, making him scream in quite the unmanly manner before he got dunked under the water. When he came back up, his dad and older brother were red in the face as they laughed their asses off. His own face turning red, but in embarrassment instead of mirth, Sam retaliated by sending a wave their way. They double teamed him, dunking him over and over until he cried "Uncle!"

Then they switched to trying to dunk the other while Sam caught his breath. Sam hauled himself out of the water and flopped down on the beach chairs. He watched Dean and their dad chase each around the pool, laughing loudly. Sam could almost pretend they were a normal family on vacation.

By the time the pizza arrived, Sam was mostly dry and Dean and their dad took turns on the waterslide.

"Pizza's here!" he called, and went over to claim the food.

Their dad got out of the pool and ran up the stairs to grab his wallet, leaving a trail of wet footprints leading all the way up to their room. Dean seemed to find it hilarious.

The food paid for, Sam took the pizza up to their room, Dean trailing behind him like a puppy. Their dad wasn't that far behind them. Sam placed the pizzas on the table and called dibs on the shower first, not that Dean cared. The words had barely left his lips before Dean tore into the food.

Dad nodded at him to show he heard and followed Dean's lead.

Sam took a quick shower because he was afraid his dad and older brother would eat up the two large pizzas on him and drink up the Coca Cola. Good thing too. Dean had already started on the second pizza.

He used his long legs to get across the floor in two steps and swooped up the second pizza box. He laughed at Dean's outraged expression then immediately looked away when he saw his brother switch from outrage to puppy dog eyes. Sam has yet to build up an immunity to them. And to think of it, neither has their dad. They cave like wet tissue paper whenever Dean uses them. Thankfully, Dean pulling out the puppy dog eyes is a rare, incredibly rare, occurance.

Dean turned on the TV and found a movie for them to watch. They all settled in and watched _Cujo_ , a movie their dad hates with a passion because he's a big baby when it comes to dogs. Their dad does not like them at all.

Night descended and all three Winchester men crashed hard from their earlier activities.

Sam had just started to wake up into consciousness when he heard Dean's phone chime, indicating a text message. In that instant, Sam was wide awake, and he tried to listen to the keypad tones to figure out what Dean is texting. It was short, so he's guessing Steve. Probably playing _Marco Polo_ again or Warmer/Cooler. The man must be getting close or something because he heard Dean stifle a chuckle.

Ice slowly started to flood his veins. In his mind, Sam decided to let Dean go when the time came, but if McGarrett is close, then he'll only have maybe a couple of days left with his brother. He's not ready to let his brother go so soon. It's too soon dammit!

Sam peeked an eye to see if their dad was awake as well but found their dad putting a chainsaw to shame. No wonder Dean's freely texting McGarrett. If their dad was awake he'd have to wait a bit before responding because if their dad heard his phone going off, he'd ask who the hell is texting him this early in the morning, and it is early. Sam just registered the time: six in the goddamn morning. What the hell, McGarrett?

"Stupid SEAL," Sam muttered darkly to himself. He didn't want Dean to know he's awake.

Dean's phone chimed again and this time Dean huffed in amusement. What the hell are they talking about? Rendezvouing their time and date for Dean's extraction from Sam and their dad?

This went on for another five minutes before Dean put his cell down and got up to shower. Perfect. Sam can see what they were texting each other, and yes, Sam realizes what a dick move that is but so what? He has every right to know when exactly his brother is leaving him. He doesn't want to be blindsided like Dean was when Sam left for Stanford.

Yeah, Sam screwed that one up. He's still paying for it.

Making sure Dean was actually in the shower and not playing a game with him, Sam reached over with his (blessedly) long arms and grabbed Dean's phone. He quickly put in Dean's screen lock code and pulled up the messages and read what they were talking about.

 _ **I tripped over a bulldog -SM**_

 _ **Dumbass -DW**_

 _ **Be nice. The old lady wacked me with her cane. it HURT -SM**_

 _ **Hahaha! -DW**_

 _ **God, youre a dick. why do I love you again? -SM**_

 _ **Because you just do -DW**_

On and on it went, saying cutesy stuff to each other that had Sam wondering when exactly he got a big sister, or even when his brother and McGarrett forgave each other. Unless they're pretending everything's all right, like how they lived their last few months together before everything imploded, and if they are, Sam is not pulling out his Dr. Phil hat to help them. Nope. The last time he did, Sam exacerbated the situation. He is not the one for them to go to with help with their relationship. He's too petty and jealous, and going to their dad would be certifiably insane.

He also found a couple of texts from Detective Williams and Kamekona. Chin, Kono and Cath will most likely text Dean later talking about their day so far or ask when Dean is going to come home.

Sam fought the urge to throw Dean's phone against the hotel room wall but if he did, then Dean would know he had been snooping through his phone and would be very disappointed in him, and that is worse than having Dean mad at him. Disappointment hurts a lot more than anger. Especially coming from his brother.

"You know," a voice said from the other bed, and it sounded suspiciously like his dad but that couldn't be. Dad is sound asleep. "Snooping is a bad habit to get into, Sam. And if you do start snooping, don't get caught," their dad drawled in amusment. "You suck at snooping."

Face heating up, Sam ducked his head, ashamed, and held Dean's phone out for their dad to take, and waited for their dad to grab the phone and chastise him for his nosiness. It didn't come.

A slight whoosh of displaced air signaled his dad's movement but he didn't hear the covers move or the bed squeak. Damn, his dad must be part ninja or something. It must be a learned ability because neither he nor his brother have that skill in their immense arsenal of techniques taught by their dad. Oh, they've been trained in other fighting styles but they both like the art of "bar fighting". It makes people think they don't know how to handle themselves with opponents who know Judo or the ever popular MMA-style of fighting. Dean especially loves to show them just how wrong their assumptions are.

Like he did with McGarrett.

My god, all of Sam's thought processes lead back to his brother and Mr. SuperSEAL.

Well isn't that just fantastic. What's next? He'll start thinking of Oahu as home? He'll start considering McGarrett and his "ohana" as family? Not friggin' likely! It'll be a cold day in hell before he ever considers McGarrett anything other than mildly tolerable.

"Put it back before Dean gets out of the shower," his dad breathed on his cheek, earning a slight shriek of surprise out of Sam that had their dad throwing his head back and laughing his ass off.

The sound of the showering shutting off had Sam tossing Dean's phone at their dad in panic. They played Hot Potato for a solid minute before Dad caught it and placed it on the bedstand, shooting Sam a glare of reproach before throwing himself on the bed and looking nonchalant. Sam tried to affect the same pose. His attempt is not as successful as his dad's. He's looks awkward as all hell and he's starting to get a cramp.

 _Squeak!_ cried the doorknob with malicious glee, making Sam's pulse jump and his muscles to spasm in panic. Their dad stifled a laugh and turned on the TV. Where the hell did Dad find the remote?

Sam flopped onto his stomach and stared at the TV like his life depended on it.

Dean came out of the bathroom humming, thankfully dressed. Sam still has nightmares about the time Dean emerged wearing only a towel, and unfortunately, Dean lost his grip on the towel and Sam got a full frontal view of his brother, who had the audacity to laugh and shake his naked butt in Sam's face. It was very traumatizing. Sam couldn't look his brother in the eye for a good long while. Dad found the whole incident hilarious.

In fact, Dad every now and then still chortles to himself, and Sam knows exactly what his dad is thinking. How? Because his eyes flick from Sam to Dean to the bathroom and back again.

Dean continued humming a familiar song, oblivious to Sam's weirdness.

He walked to the window the table was near, half a pizza lay in the box. Picking up a cold slice, he stuffed half of it into his mouth and smiled at Sam, earning a disgusted groan from his little brother. Chuckling, Dean chewed his food while he walked over to the little refrigerator to grab a 2 liter bottle and drank from it. Earning another groan from Sam.

"That's gross, Dean!" Sam had half a mind to whine to their dad and force Dean to go get them a new pop because Dean defiled the one they had.

Dad shook his head at them and rolled his eyes heavenward.

Dean's phone rang. All three Winchester men turned as one to look at it, the screen lighting up on the bedside stand, and Sam swore the little device seemed to get louder the longer it went unanswered. Dean hopped across the bed, intentionally hitting Sam to get a squawk of annoyance, swooped up his phone and answered with a cheerful, "Dean Winchester, how may I help you?"

Sam exchanged looks with Dad, both with raised eyebrows at Dean's greeting. That is _not_ how his brother answers the phone. That was too professional.

Dean bobbed his head every now and then, the occasional uh-huh, yeah, hmm popping up in the conversation, and then his tone switched into something serious.

"No. You are _not_ going to do that, man! You can't. It's just - it's a crime against nature, that's why. No, man. No. You putting Spam on pizza is just wrong. It's worse than putting pineapple on pizza. Way worse. No, I'm not kidding. Don't do it. Your truck'll tank. People wouldn't trust your idea of food, let alone experimental food. You need trust for people to try your bizarre creations."

Dean listened some more, shaking his head.

"No. If you do that, I swear I'll tell Danny and he'll be at your truck every day screeching at you about monstrosities that should never exist," threatened Dean with a fond grin. "You know I'm not joking. Yeah, huh. Thought so. Shelve that idea for now, big man. I'll talk to you later."

He hung up and had a small yet happy smile on his face.

Sam very deliberately didn't look at Dad or Dean. He's a little afraid of what he'll say or what his face is saying. So, pretending he wasn't listening to everything Dean said is the best source of recourse for Sam at the moment. He's a little afraid Dean'll take it the wrong way.

Dean sat on top of Sam's back, ignoring Sam's squawk of protest at being used as a chair. Sam squirmed a bit before finding a spot that didn't have him being suffocated underneath his brother's weight. Dad tossed Sam a small bag of pretzels, his favorite, and threw a packet of Skittles at Dean's head but Dean caught it without looking. Dad looked grudgingly impressed.

"There's a hunt in Oregon. Shapeshifter," Dad said. He grinned ferally at them. "Wanna kill something?"

Sam and Dean grinned back at him.

"Sounds good," Dean said, making Sam and their dad light up at him _finally_ talking to them.

"Sounds good," Sam confirmed with a goofy smile.

"Good," their dad grunted.

 **ALK**

Steve blocked a punch to the face but failed to stop the roundhouse kick to the side of the head. Cheaters.

He's currently fighting two men-ish, humanoids. They're fast, strong, and seemed to like the taste of his blood. Steve has no idea what the hell they are but he has first hand knowledge that silver doesn't work on them because his silver tipped knife is still in the giant with a large nose's chest. The thing doesn't even seem to notice it.

Iron maybe?

Steve rapid punched Giant with the Long Neck in the stomach then threw a massive upper cut that sent it sprawling backwards. He turned his attention to Big Nose. The thing hissed at him and Steve saw sharp ass teeth. Oh, boy.

Shaking his head at his life at the moment, Steve pulled out another knife, steel this time, and shot forward, knife first, aiming for the heart when Big Nose caught his hand in an iron grip, swung him around and threw him into the wall with a flick of the wrist. Landing with a pained grunt, Steve rolled to his feet and fell back into a fighting stance. Big Nose gnashed his teeth at him before charging. Steve sidestepped him, grabbed the silver knife in its chest and pulled as hard as he can.

The sickening sound of flesh being torn and fresh blood splurted from the creature.

Steve swung behind the creature and used both his knives to sever the head. More blood. Enough that he's actually, completely covered in it. Gross.

The thing didn't get back up and reattach its head. So, decapitation then.

Without wasting time, Steve strode over to Long Neck and cut the head off of it with only a little trouble. He knew he should have sharpened his knives. This is what he gets for slacking off.

Now what the hell is he going to do with the bodies? Does he burn them? Bury them? Do they decompose by themselves? Biodegradable monsters with super fast microorganisms that love to eat them? That'd be handy.

Steve waited for a bit, watching, hoping that the bodies would disappear by themselves. When nothing happened he muttered a tired, "Son of a bitch."

Great, now he's got to find some tarps, lighter fluid, matches, and clothes to change into. Not in that order. At least he hopes. He doesn't think anyone would take too kindly to him walking around with holsters, guns, a tac vest, and covered in blood that is starting to smell.

He can hear Danny ranting at him for being an idiot about looking into the string of deaths that had been plaguing Spokane, Washington. He honestly thought it was a serial killer. Although he really hadn't any actual experience with serial killers but at least they're human, it felt like he needed to take a step back from hunting monsters to find his wayward boyfriend to think clearly.

Instead he found vampire-type things that could only be killed by beheading. Do - Are - Can vampires be killed that way? On _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ they turned to dust when beheaded. So, maybe? Can they be killed through a stake to the heart?

Shaking his head, Steve grabbed the feet of Big Nose and pulled its body to his rental. He clicked the fob to unlock and open the trunk, and threw the body into it, pushing it to the back and went back to Long Neck's body to haul that into the trunk as well. Once Long Neck got situated, Steve went back for the heads, grimacing slightly when Big Nose's scalp made a tearing noise. He looked down to see the scalp starting to give.

Quickening his steps, Steve all but threw the heads into the trunk and slammed it shut with satisfied air. Okay, now for some salt and lighter fluid. Oh, and a shovel.

Can't really bury a body without a shovel, no? Or a Bobcat. A Bobcat would be really handy about now.

Steve drove deep into the middle of nowhere after pilfering his supplies from a store that really needed to upgrade their security system, past the last farmhouse for miles, or so it seemed. Double checking to make sure no one is around, he hauled the bodies out of the trunk, despairing slightly at the amount of work he'll have to do to get all the blood out.

"Next time I'm just going to leave the bodies," Steve grumbled to himself.

Digging a hole big enough to put the bodies in and deep enough so he could set them on fire without attracting attention, took quite a while. More than he likes to admit.

His muscles ached pleasantly. It's been a while since he's done something this strenuous. It's been even longer since he went swimming. He misses swimming. He misses swimming and coming out of the water to see Dean dozing in the beach chair, a towel lay on top of him like a blanket.

He had a lot of fun flicking water at Dean to wake him up. The squawk of annoyance and the resulting glare would have Steve smiling his shit-eating grin and swooping down to kiss the glare away before it gained traction and turned into a full blown pout. A pouty Dean is not fun in the morning, especially if he goes to work like that and then he'd have to hear it from Kamekona and everyone else at the shrimp truck and he'd have to think of a way to pull Dean out of his funk.

Those hazy, crazy summer days are much missed.

He'll need to move on once he's sure the fire won't spread. He will not be the reason why the entire county catches fire because he's an idiot that didn't watch what he was doing. The lecture he'd undoubtedly get from Danny is already playing in his head at full volume.

No. No fires. No lectures.

He hasn't heard from Dean in the past couple of days. His texts have gone unanswered and he's a little worried. Only a little though. Dean can handle himself, even his family. Now at least.

Steve let out a tired sigh. Not the bad kind of tired sigh but the accomplished tired sigh. He feels good doing this. No wonder Dean likes it. Hell, even Sam admitted to missing hunting and doing something as good as killing a monster and protecting people, makes you feel like a superhero. Without magical powers or super serums, of course.

Captain America _is_ his favorite super hero though, and not because Danny sometimes likes to yell at him that he's not a super soldier. During his younger years, Steve used to pretend he was named after Steve Rogers because they were so alike. Or so his younger mind thought.

Steve shook his head. He's going on a tangent. He must be more exhausted than he originally thought. Okay, he'll drive for a couple of hours, pull off somewhere and sleep for a couple of hours before continuing his search for his wayward boyfriend.

He should just ask Dean where he's at. Money's becoming a little tight. He can't keep going as he's been, and not just because of the money situation but because he's starting to miss home.

It's so quiet out. No insects. It's a little too cold for them right now. The only thing out in the isolated field with him is the waxing moon above and the crackling fire pit below, and if that's indictive of anything about his life, he'd rather not see or acknowledge it. Breathing through his mouth, Steve patiently waited for the fire to die down enough for him to start shoveling the dirt over the now burnt corpses.

More stretched muscles that still felt quite good and Steve is done filling in the improvised crematorium.

No wonder Dean has such strong shoulders and back muscles. Geez.

Rotating his shoulders, Steve gathered up his gear and hiked back to his rental, sighing again when he realized his night is not yet done. He still has to clean up the blood in the trunk and that is going to take the rest of the night to do so. Thankful he bought cleaning supplies along with the lighter fluid and shovel, which is an odd combination and he's glad he paid with cash, Steve rolled up his metaphorical sleeves and got to work.

By the time the sun rose above the horizon, Steve felt dead tired. He hasn't felt like this since BUD/s, and that is saying something. Unfortunately, he can't stay here. A car alone out in the field will raise some questions and he's too tired to think of a plausible explanation why he's there.

Steve yawned so widely his jaw popped numerous times and he had to blink back tears of exhaustion. He's not going to be able to sleep until much later.

Being in the Navy sure does come in handy sometimes, especially when it comes to sleep deprivation. He can do this. He can drive until he's 2-3 towns over and find a motel to stay at where he can rest for the next 16 hours.

With a solid plan in mind, Steve dropped exhaustedly into the driver seat, started up the car and drove far away from the improvised burial site.

One more week then he's going home. With Dean or no Dean. He _needs_ to go home.


	12. Chapter 12

Dean felt sick. Not the flu-kind but the I-can't-do-this kind of sick. He's standing above a terrified young shapeshifter, pleading for its life and all Dean can think about is Daniel. He has no idea what happened with his shapeshifter after Dad picked him up from Hawaii or even if he's alive, and the blubbering creature beneath him is tearing at his heart. Dad and Sam are going the through sewers to track down any other 'shifters in the area. They're trusting him to take care of the problem.

"Please," the creature begged. "I didn't mean to kill that woman. She came home too early. She should have been gone until next Wednesday. It said so on her calendar."

The thing is, Dean does know. He saw it written on the woman's desk calendar. Daniel had told him once that's how they do their first kill; panic when the people they're impersonating returns abruptly, and then they get a taste, the thrill of killing and hurting Normals, as they call humans.

But this thing isn't Daniel, and unlike Daniel, this thing has killed and seemed to enjoy it.

"I'm sorry," Dean told it, and slammed his silver dagger into its heart. Bile collected in his throat when the blood splurted onto his hand and face when he removed the dagger. All he can see is Daniel bleeding out beneath him, staring at him with betrayed eyes, and it's all Dean can do to keep his lunch down. He should have listened to Sam and had a "light" lunch, whatever the hell that is.

With shaking hands, Dean wiped the flat of the blade on his already destroyed pants, he's going to have throw this pair away. No amount of bleach is going to remove those blood stains.

"Oh God," he whimpered, and lost his fight to keep from puking. The sound of his retching drew Dad and Sam to his side, popping up like Kazoo from _The Flintstones_. They immediately check for any injuries and when they find none, they start to look a little freaked at his reaction.

Dad knows about Daniel. He'll know why he's acting like this. He should have never befriended the young shapeshifter in the first place but he was in a weird headspace at the time. He knew better.

Sam reached out and ran his hand soothingly up and down his back.

Dean looked up to see Dad staring at him with an expression that just exuded disapproval and disappointment, and Dean flinched from it, making Sam push in closer in a show of support to their father's stare. He glared back, reacting on instinct to help his brother against Dad.

He shook his head at Sam. He deserves that look this time, genuinely.

Huffing, Sam dropped his glare but refused to leave Dean's side. It warmed Dean's heart at the solidarity but also at Sam actually listening instead of fighting Dad at the first chance like he does every other time. So, maybe his weeks of silence - which were a bitch to keep - payed off in the end. He won't have to deal with them butting heads _too_ much this time around, and maybe it'll continue once he goes back to Oahu. It's doubtful but Dean is ever the optimist when it comes to his family.

Sam allowed him another minute for Dean to collect himself before hauling his brother up to his feet and their dad doused the body in bleach to eliminate any evidence of Dean on it. He won't allow his son to be traced to this murder and put on the FBI's radar.

Dean deliberately turned his back on the body and followed Dad out to the Impala, sliding into the backseat, wanting to lie down until he gets his head back on straight. This can't happen again. It can't. Maybe the next time he hesitates killing a 'shifter, it will take advantage of that and try and kill Dean instead. His dad would summon his back down to Earth just so he can yell at Dean for his stupidity and weakness, and then he'd find a way to bring Dean back to life.

"Don't wake me unless absolutely necessary," Dean told them before putting his earbuds in and tapped on the Spotify icon and chose his sleep playlist. Within seconds he's asleep while his dad and brother talked about their next hunt and where to stay and eat.

Sam shook him awake hours later.

"Come on. Dad got us a room. We're gonna have to double up. No stealing the covers," Sam told him. He grinned when Dean only had the energy to flip him off before flopping backwards and curling into a tighter ball. "Come on, Dean. You can sleep on a far more comfortable bed than the Impala."

Dean lifted his head enough to quirk an incredulous eyebrow at Sam and Sam bobbed his head in agreement.

"Yeah, I know that most of the beds we stay in, the Impala _is_ more comfortable, but you're tall and the backseat isn't exactly built for tall people to stretch out on," Sam pointed out.

His brother grumbled and curled tighter before letting out a sigh and scooted over to the other door so he could get out. Sam bit back a grin of triumph. Letting Dean see the grin, his brother wouldn't leave the car out of sheer stubborness and then Dad would have to come out and drag Dean's sorry ass out of the car and into the motel room, swung over their dad's shoulder fireman style.

Actually, that'd be fun to see.

Dean reached out and cuffed Sam upside the head before he came to a decision.

"Let's go, Sasquatch. Don't keep Dad waiting," Dean smirked.

Scowling, Sam punched Dean in the shoulder, ducking when Dean tried to retaliate. He ran into the motel room, only to dodge nimbly when Dad unexpectedly moved to the motel dresser to place his clothes in them. Dean did this twirl thing with their dad that left the Winchester patriarch a little bewildered at all of a sudden facing the queen bed with his clothes still in his hand. He turned to look at Dean, who grinned smuggly at him.

Dad nodded his head, impressed.

The Winchester men unpacked what they needed and Sam gathered up their dirty clothes to go do a load of laundry while Dad went to go get some food because no one had the energy or desire to be around people right now. Dean? Dean fell asleep on top of the bed. He didn't even stir when Sam covered him up with Dad's bed blanket.

John and Sam enjoyed a quiet dinner, both sneaking looks to the sleeping Winchester.

"What are you going to do when McGarrett comes after him?" asked Sam. John grunted in response. "Come on, Dad. You know he's coming after him. McGarrett won't let Dean go until they've both come to a unanimous decision on the state of their relationship. That man does not like to deal with loose ends. He likes everything, if he can have it, be wrapped up in a neat little bow at the end. Dean won't let it go either."

Dad grunted again, this time in irritation.

"Ignoring it won't change anything, Dad," Sam scolded him.

Glaring, John spat out, "You think I don't know that?" He lowered his voice when Dean moaned and shifted in his sleep as consciousness tickled at him, responding to his tone like the good soldier he is. "McGarrett is in Utah. He's close but not close enough."

Sam's jaw dropped. "You know? You know exactly where he is?"

"Yes." The 'Duh' whole-heartedly implied, and Sam flushed from the tone. "It's kind of hard for a man like that to blend into the civilian population. He's too precise, confident. That speaks to people and they recognize him for what he is."

"But he's a SEAL," Sam argued. "He's taught to blend in with the environment."

"He _was_ ," Dad pointed out, "but he's been the head of that task force in Hawaii. They're very public, and with a build and face like that, it'd be hard to mix in with the general population."

Sam sat back, stumped, but he rallied quickly.

"Do you really think, after months, and even years of training, that Steve doesn't know how disappear into any population without anyone remembering what he looks like or how tall or even his accent? Come on, Dad. You were a _Marine_ , McGarrett is a Navy SEAL. Your training and his training are vastly different."

"It doesn't change that my people can't track him down to the very hotel he's staying and the room number," Dad replied with a smirk. "Hunters are a different breed, son, and someone with McGarrett's training will stand out among us."

Sam is stumped again, because, yeah. McGarrett would stand out and hunters would know he wasn't one of them, and that he's the man Dad is looking for. The hunter network is not one to trifle with and they are far more reliable than a cop putting out a BOLO or an APB, complete with an accurate sketch and details of what he was wearing and the car he was driving. But then again, civilians aren't exactly the most observant bunch.

...What was Sam thinking about? His mind drifted there for a bit.

Oh, right, McGarrett and his inability to blend in.

"Are you intentionally placing hunts around him?" Sam asked in shock. "Is that why McGarrett is always close but never close enough?"

"Yep, and from my sources, he's close to throwing in the towel." Dad grinned in triumph. "If we keep him away a little longer, then he'll go back to Hawaii without Dean and we won't have to worry about Dean leaving us anymore. It's a win-win scenario, Sam, and don't tell me a weight just hadn't been lifted off of you, a weight you didn't even know was there."

And yet again, Sam didn't have a foot to stand on.

"So I guess I got my arguing skills from you," Sam said grumpily. He's not happy to be on the losing side of an argument.

Grinning, Dad got up, and went to go grab Dean's ankle and shook it to wake his oldest up. When Dean groaned and kicked off Dad's grip, Dad scowled and grabbed both of Dean's legs and pulled him off the queen bed. Dean flailed and let out an undignified yelp that had Sam biting back laughter.

"What the hell?" Dean whined from the floor. He got up and whapped Sam upside the head. He's not dumb enough to go after Dad. "What'd you guys get?" he asked as he dug into the lone take out bag. He let out a happy little sound from the back of his throat that had Sam and Dad exchanging amused grins behind Dean's back.

Dean ate his burger and fries while his mind drifted to Steve. It's taking his SEAL too long to find him. The last text Steve sent him had Dean thinking that the older man is considering packing it up and returning to Oahu without him. He doesn't know how he feels about that. It's not like he can talk to Dad and Sam about it. They'd be happy that Steve is throwing in the towel and leaving without Dean. There's a part of Dean that's a little miffed at Steve quiting so soon but he gets it.

He wouldn't've stayed around someone who's been playing hard to get. Really had to get.

Maybe he should call this game off and go find Steve himself, but he's not sure what to do about his father and brother. Would they let him go? Would they keep him from Steve? Shaking his head, Dean shoved it to the back of his mind to worry about another day.

There was a shift between his dad and Sam, and Dean doesn't know what it is but they're actually more in sync and there is an air of ease between them in a way that he's never seen before. It's kind of freaking him out.

He doesn't know what to do or think. He needs to get out of here.

Dean finished his food, put on his boots, grabbed the keys, and shouted over his shoulder, "I'm going for a drive. Don't kill each other while I'm gone."

Not making out their grumbling, Dean assumed they were okay with him leaving them stranded at the motel. At least it has a pool. They could go for a swim or for a dip in the hot tub, the hunt with the shapeshifter had them all thrown against the sewer walls at one point. The hot water and jets would do wonders for their bruised flesh. They'd be stupid not to take advantage.

Dean drove until he found a secluded spot to think and not be bothered by anyone. Luckily, there's a park for him to sit and think, and if he's lucky, a creature would come and try to kill and/or eat him. It'd be fun to kill something that isn't a shapeshifter.

Parking the Impala, Dean got out and made his way to the swings - the little kid in him demanding he go there, and Dean's not going to fight that urge.

Swinging contently, Dean allowed himself to enjoy the little act of childishness without anyone to make a snarky comment about it. Even Steve and Catherine would have said something before joining him. He misses them. He genuinely thinks Catherine is his best friend. She gets him in a way Steve, Danny, Dad or Sammy don't or can't quite understand. It's easy with them.

He does feel guilty for ignoring her for that weirdness with Danny. If he had hung around her more, she would have seen what was going on and she would have slapped Dean so hard upside the head he'd think his name was Tony DiNozzo. None of what had happened all those months ago would have come to fruition and Dean and Steve wouldn't have lost touch. Sure they lived together but they felt miles apart because of Dean's idiocy. He really shouldn't've kept Catherine at arm's length.

"I like Catherine Rollins. She's a warrior," a woman said, appearing right next to him. Dean has no clue as to how long she's been there. "Kono Kalakaua as well. They would be worthy of your affections, Dean Winchester."

The woman looks to be in her 40s, slightly pudgy, and a round face with solemn hazel eyes. Her gaze is intense, Dean's mind noticed inanely, and she held her body stiff, like she didn't know how to move or act. In fact, Dean's mind noticed again, she only moved her head while her body remained facing forward and her chest barely moved.

Dean's starting to feel a little unnerved.

"Steven McGarrett is also a fine warrior, one of the best the human race has to offer, but I don't think he's the one you should be mated with," the woman said matter-of-factly. Dean could do nothing but blink at her in incomprehension, because what? "Chin Ho Kelly would be best if the women do not tempt you, but not Daniel Williams. He is too emotional for you. Chin Ho, yes, he would be the best compatible mate for you...If you had not already given your heart to Steven."

She said all this like she was repeating what has been told over and over until she memorized it. Great. Leave it to Dean to have a crazy lady find him and spout all this shit like she knew him.

"Sure," Dean said, and went to stand up and move away, but the woman's hand shot out and held Dean's wrist in a tight grip. Surprisingly strong for the woman of her age and fitness level.

"Listen to me, Dean Winchester," she intoned in a rather deep voice, "follow Steven McGarrett back to Hawaii, and don't ever return. Do not allow yourself to be drawn back to your family. Remain in Hawaii. Do this, and your family will survive. Do not disobey me on this. Never leave Hawaii. If you do, your dad will die, Sam will die, and the apocalypse will come."

She stared at him with such intensity - Dean swore she was staring into his soul, and, oddly enough, he didn't feel that unnerved by her stare - and found what she saw acceptable because she nodded her head solemnly and disappeared in a rush of wind that sounded a little like wings. Massive wings.

Shaken, Dean walked to the Impala with Jell-o like legs. He's honestly surprised he didn't fall to his ass. What the hell was that?

His phone buzzing startled him so bad he dropped the keys and had a mini heart attack.

Cursing, Dean grabbed the keys and pulled out his phone to see a text from an unknown number: **Seattle, Washington. Cypress Hotel. Room 107. Leave now.**

What the fuck? No, seriously. What the fuck was that?

Unnerved and a little terrified and a lot confused, Dean got into the Impala and drove towards the motel. He stopped at the park turn off, if he goes right, he'll end up at the motel, but he if he turns left, it'll take him to the freeway and the bus depot. To Steve.

He really wants to write the middle-aged woman off as a complete and total nutjob but she knew his name and she knew his ohana. And her words...they had the weight of prophecy about them. It's the best he can explain it. They felt real and matter-of-fact, like she could see the future, and that stuff his dad and brother dying and the apocalypse? That's just too surreal to contemplate.

...But what if she's right? She didn't approve of him being "mated" with Steve but all she really seemed to care about is him going back to Hawaii and staying there.

Left or right? Dad and Sam or Steve and the ohana?

* * *

 **Sorry it's not a long one but I got what I wanted put into the chapter without too much fighting from Dean and Steve. (They're stubborn little shits, let me tell you, but I'm betting you already know that about them.)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry for the wait. Couldn't write for a while. Too busy with RL, which sucks. Things seem to be calming down. Gonna be busy around Memorial Day but then should be good after.**

 **Need to go camping to clear my head. Lol! Too much people, too much drama, too much adulting. ;)**

* * *

Dean left the Impala in the bus depot parking lot, locking the keys in there, knowing Dad has a spare set, left a small letter - note really - in the glove compartment, and purchased a ticket to Seattle. It's a straight shot to the city with no stops, a rarity if there ever was one. He sent a text to Sam and Dad where the Impala was and shut off his phone once it was sent. He took out the battery, pulled out the memory card and snapped the tiny thing in half before dropping them under the seat. No going back now.

He's got to be insane thinking the crazy woman's words but he just can't shake the feeling she's telling the truth. There has been a few people he's run into in the world that do have the gift of Sight or prophecy, and his instincts are telling him she's one of them.

Risking Dad and Sam's life is not something he'd let come to fruition, even if it sounds completely crazy.

The apocalypse? Really? How in the hell is his family become a part of the apocalypse? A pretty integral part from the sounds of it, which is a scary thought because they're just run-of-the-mill hunters. Nothing impressive about that, at least nothing that would explain the goddamn apocalypse.

They're going to hate him. They may never want to see him again but he can't just put the woman's words out of his mind or write them off. He just can't, and with them never wanting to see him again, it would be a good thing. The woman said that if they were together bad things would happen. So listening the to potentially crazy woman is a good thing as well. Okay, and maybe the whole thing is a fantastic excuse to go back to Hawaii with Steve, guilt free.

Almost guilt free. Close enough where he can sleep at night at least.

The bus rumbled away from the depot and Dean felt a weight lift off his shoulders when the city limits sign flew past. Guilt is there, probably will always be, but he could live with it. Sam never regretted, when he was away, his choice to leave them for Stanford, and Dad never seemed apologetic for taking off on a moments notice for a hunt or a whisper of a rumor of the demon that killed Mom.

Why should he feel it when they didn't?

Chin had told Dean that his family still couldn't look him in the eye, despite being exonerated for the thievery, and he said it was because in their mind they had every right to doubt him and believe what HPD said about him. Him covering for a family member didn't change how they essentially abondoned him and no one said sorry.

Sometimes you just got to move on and let things lie in the past. Easier said than done. Because Dean's family is just like Chin's. They think they did nothing wrong.

Snorting to himself, maybe Crazy Lady was right about him being more compatible with Chin than the others. Well, actually, she said that his best choice of mate would have been Catherine or Kono, both seemingly worthy of a warrior like himself since they are warriors as well.

He wonders what'd Steve think if he told him?

Oh, shit! Steve. He just destroyed his phone and memory card. He's going to have to wait until Seattle to purchase a new phone and get in contact with his...SEAL. He just hopes Super SEAL doesn't do anything drastic in the seven hours it'll take him to Seattle, but knowing Steve as he does, that poor city just might be leveled by the time he arrives.

 **ALK**

Grumbling about the overcharged price of a damn burner phone, Dean dialed Steve's number from his recent purchase. It rang four times then Dean hung up. Waited until a count of seven then dialed again and waited six rings then hung up again. He did a mental count of fifteen and grinned when his phone rang out with Steve's number on the screen.

"You know our code isn't exactly the hardest to break or figure out," Dean said in lieu of hello. "Seriously, Steve, _Grace_ could figure it out. It's just sad that that's the best a _Navy SEAL_ could come up with."

There's silence then a huff of amusement.

"Whatever you say, Dean, but it works," came the husky reply. It sent a fission of warmth through his body at the sound. He must have woken Steve up. "Why am I staring at a new cell number for you? What happened to your old one?"

Rubbing at the back of his neck, which heated up in embarrassment, Dean answered honestly. "I broke it. Memory card too. I'm in Seattle, looking for you actually, and I want to come home, Steve. I love my dad, and I love Sam, but they're not home for me. Not anymore. I - I have a lot things to say to you about my behavior last year but I'd rather say it to your face. Wanna meet up?"

Steve fell silent but it felt more of an alert silent than a I-don't-know-what-to-think silent.

"I can come to your hotel," Dean offered. "I know it's ass o'clock in the morning but if you'd rather meet on a neutral territory. I'm game. I'll crash at the local shelter until you wanna meet up."

Now the silence feels angry. He totally gets Danny saying he can tell Rachel's mood from the kind of silence she gives him over the air waves. He gets that now. He wonders if it's a genetic thing, an evolved trait left over from the time when they were all instinct and silence because being loud meant death in a world full of predators.

That's interesting really. If he were inclined to go to college, he'd probably major in Anthropology or something similar, and learn all about it. His line of work, his life, has him constantly actin' and reactin' to outside stimuli in ways normal people don't. He'd be sociologist's dream. Psychologist, too.

He wonders if he can make money from that; being a lab monkey for those ivory coats.

"Or not," Dean replied to the angry silence. "I'll just call you later."

He hung up and tapped on the Google icon to look up the nearest shelter. He hopes there will be some place that had an opening. He's not looking forward to sleeping in the park, not on a full moon night, otherwise, yeah, he'd prefer the park. The knives he has, and his new gun, won't be sufficient for any creature using the park as its hunting grounds. Brute force would only get him so far and he hasn't slept since he left Dad and Sam behind with a note in the glove compartment addressed to them, so his strength would only last so long.

His phone rang before he even found a nearby shelter. It's Steve. Oh, thank God.

"Yes?"

"Why did you hang up? You never let me digest and respond to that little bombshell," Steve chastised lightly. "Give me more than 20 seconds, geez."

Dean grinned into his phone. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Steve assured him. "Look, are you messing with me? Do you really want to come home with me? To Hawaii? That home? Because if you're fucking with me, Dean, I swear to god I will find a way to make your life a living hell."

"Like that'd be any different than what I deal with on a daily basis," Dean quipped, earning an amused snort from Steve. "I'll be there in 20."

"You better," Steve threatened, "I'm timing you."

Huffing, Dean hung up and hoofed it until he found a busier street then flagged down a taxi, secretly praying he wasn't about to disappear into the night and end up on tomorrow's evening news. Dad and Sam would laugh their asses off before coming to find and save him from a most terrible and completely mortifying fate of being killed by a civilian. He'd never live it down.

Neither would his ohana back home.

He would bet Five-0 would learn how to communicate with the dead and yell at him for being a colossal idiot, and then they'd figure out a way to bring Dean back to life, consequences be damned. It would probably be the first time his two families would get along quite well.

Although, maybe him dying might just solve the whole apocalypse thing, and probably more likely to work since Dean honestly can't trust himself not to seek out his family in the future. Family's family. He's not like Dad and Sam, who seemingly can turn that part of them off. It's not in Dean's nature to forsake the people cloesest to him. Case in point, him returning to Steve and going back to Hawaii...again. For the third time. And without a one-time shapeshifter lover.

God, he hopes Daniel is okay and safe and not succumbing to murderous instinct.

Dean hoofed it to a busier street and flagged down a cab that dropped him off at Steve's hotel, giving the cabbie a generous tip before knocking on room 107, and tried in vein to tame the butterflies that erupted in his stomach. His knuckles barely rapped on the door once before it got thrown up and Dean got tugged into a fierce hug then got promptly got punched in the face.

Staggering back a couple of steps, Dean gave Steve a rueful smile because, yeah, he deserved that and then some. Steve reached forward again and pulled him in for a desperate kiss that had Dean's face flaming and heart attempting to burst out of his chest and join Steve's at the pure emotion behind the kiss. Their teeth clacked together and Dean swore he tasted blood.

He had never been kissed like that before. Never. Nothing even close to being this feeling.

His good old friend Guilt made its prescence known - and just after swearing not to feel that particular feeling again - wrapping familiar bands around his chest and gave it a hard squeeze in hello. It had Dean surging forward, deepening the kiss into something a little less desperate and a lot more relaxed with a hint of concupiscence that promised a lot more later, once words were spoken and feelings made known.

Steve pulled back first, a trace of blood on his bottom lip. Dean licked his lips at the sight, finding out that _he_ was the one with the cut lip. He reached out and gently wiped the blood away. He went to the hotel sink, filled up a plastic cup of water, waved Steve over and had him rinse his mouth out. The SEAL did without hesitation, although he did keep his eye on Dean the entire time.

Dean doesn't blame him for doing that. He would have done the same thing, had done the same thing when his dad left him and Sam for two weeks when he was supposed to be gone for only three days. He didn't let his dad out of his sight for months.

Whether or not Dad ever felt guilt over leaving them for 14 days instead a mere 3, Dean'll never know for a fact but Dad let them stay in Flagstaff, Arizona for five months. It made Sam ridiculously happy and Dean felt the first tug of _hiraeth_ ; a word he came across online that hit him hard in the heart when he read the definition. It's a homesickness for a home to which you cannot return; a home which maybe never was.

And if that doesn't describe Dean's past, he doesn't know what would.

Steve stepped close enough where their breaths mingled, Dean can feel the heat radiating off the older man's body, and Dean swore he can hear Steve's heart beating. The thought settled Dean's heart back down from its attempts to participate in an allegro movement.

Large, strong hands settled onto his waist, the grip tight enough to most likely leave bruises, sending a bolt of arousal through his body like a bolt of lightning. It reminded him of their first encounter a year and a half ago - coming up to two years, if he's being technical. That night set everything into movtion. It was the first time Dean felt like he found someone who'd fight for him, to want him as something more than a fun fling, and he was right.

A connection had been made that first night, and with completely idiotic moves, miscommunications, and Dean's inability to let himself be happy and sabotaged what he had with Steve. The thing with Danny...that was pure asininity on his part, but it was the best (and worst) way to make things between him and Steve just fall apart.

When they get back to Hawaii, Dean has a lot of apologizing to do to everyone. Starting with Danny, then Catherine, Kono, Chin and Kamekona. And Grace. Possibly Rachel as well. That woman is _terrifying_.

Steve leaned forward so his forehead rested on Dean's, a shuddering breath ghosted against Dean's lips; a pool of heat started in his stomach and slowly spread out to the rest of his body, suffusing every inch with a warm glow and languidness. Dean pressed a small kiss to Steve's jaw then tucked his head into Steve's neck, arms lazily wrapping around the SEAL's torso.

A part of him wanted to escalate things, to indulge in that earlier feeling of libidinousness but he's not sure if he should. They need to talk. They do. Definitely they should talk about...things and such.

But then again. This warm, liquid languidness is new. It's nice.

"Fuck, where have you been?" whispered Steve brokenly, tightening his grip on Dean. A shuddering breath escaped the SEAL, rattling through the Hunter from how closely pressed together they were. "I swear to God, if you're fucking with me, I will never forgive you."

"'M not," Dean mumbled into Steve's shoulder. "I wanna go home."

"About time," breathed Steve.

A rush of adrenaline and a strong urge to just go now hit Dean. He pulled away from Steve and started packing the older man's items into the duffel bags on the hotel dresser, and Steve let him. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off of Dean, almost like he was afraid that Dean might disappear if he so much as shifted his attention away from the Hunter.

Once Dean packed up Steve's things, he grabbed the older man's hand and tugged him out the door, stopping abruptly, causing Steve to crash into his back. Dean did a head tilt, thinking, then went to the front office and checked out of Steve's room, Steve still clinging to him in an impressive impersonation of a limpet. The night manager quirked a look at them but he took the hotel room keys out of Dean's hand.

Dean dug into Steve's pockets until he found the car rental keys and clicked the fob to unlock the car and popped the trunk. He threw the bags inside and shoved Steve into the passenger seat before hopping into the driver's and peeled out of the parking lot like Hell was nipping at his heels.

And considering what he knows about Hell, and what the future could possibly hold for him, Dean found it an apt metaphor.

 **ALK**

As far as allowing someone you've been looking for for the past couple of months to drive like a madman on a jailbreak, Steve thinks he's deserved a moment to completely have a brain malfunction. There is absolutely nothing going on in his head - something Danny would claim is all the time - nothing beside the white static. He honestly doesn't know what to think. He's just letting Dean, literally and figuratively, drive the car until he can grapple together a response.

Miles and miles flew by while Steve's brain refused to get its shit together.

Dean's back, yes. Steve is no longer looking for him. He no longer has to "hunt" anymore. The few jobs he accidentally came across don't have to be handled by him. Dean'll take care of it. Not that he had a hard time handling them himself but he's man enough to admit that the hunting thing is so beyond his ken that letting Dean handle anything "ooky spooky" is fine by him.

His hunter is freaked out, that his brain processed, but he has no clue how to approach the topic. Whatever it is, if it's freaking Dean out, then it'd be best if he left it alone.

Dean's world is far more vast and scary than he ever thought it could ever be.

So, if something scared him, then Steve should be friggin' terrified out of his mind and should be thinking of ways to leave the planet before shit hits the fan. Is that cowardly? He doesn't think so. At least he should hope so.

A speed bump jolted Steve's brain back on track, and blurted out, "I am not a coward!"

"Oh-kay," Dean drawled uncertainly. He blinked at the statement, unable to comprehend why the hell Steve would say that.

Face flushing, Steve shook his head and looked down at his knees in a rare moment of true embarrassment. He couldn't look at the hunter. He feels like a damn high schooler on his first date and saying and doing everything wrong. Nerves in control. Not good.

Dean reached over and patted him on the knee.

It helped marshall his thoughts.

Taking a deep breath, Steve let it out slowly, doing it over and over until he felt his equilibrium return. He could feel Dean's concerned gaze on him like a light caress. He's not someone who really likes to be the object of worry and concern. It's not in him to be worried over. He wasn't raised or trained to be that way. He's the worrier, not the worry-ee. The protector, not the protected.

"Why are we driving further in-land instead of towards the bay? Why are we driving East instead of further West or even South to California? California would be best. I know a few people at the docks who'd slip us onto a ship without having to pay. They owe. Or we could book a cruise? That'd be different. I've never been on a cruise ship before," Steve babbled. He _babbled_. Seriously unlike him. What is wrong with him? He damn near never babbles _._ Ask his team.

But Dean is already shaking his head.

"No," he shook his head, "not gonna happen. It'll take too damn long and I don't know if we'll beat my Dad and Sam back to Oahu. If they're there when we arrive, they'll just take me back, and they won't let me out of their sight again. We need to go now."

"Then why are we going East?"

"I gotta make a withdrawal," came the vague answer.

Well, then. If that wasn't a wall slamming down on the conversation then Steve's an elephant. He let it drop.

He picked up a different topic.

"Why did you leave? Why did you stay on Maui? Why did you ever come back to Hawaii then leave when your dad came from you?" Steve asked rapid fire once he got going. "And why the fuck did you have a damn shapeshifter with you?!"

Okay, he did not mean to shout that last question, and he absolutely did not mean to ask it.

"I left because I was being a drama queen and a dick," Dean answered honestly, startling Steve. "I stayed on Maui because I didn't think you guys would look for me on the other islands, and well, you never took me to Maui like you said you would." Steve frowned at that and opened his mouth to argue, only to shut up when Dean raised his hand for him to shush.

"I mean, what was the deal, Steve? You promised to take me there and see the island. You said you'd find the time take and we spend a long weekend there, just the two of us with no work, from either of us. That never happened. But when Danny promised to take me to his favorite haunts, he made time, something you never did, might I add," Dean pointed out. "And you said you'd take me deep sea fishing, though Danny said that would be a Bad Idea, capitals and all "

Steve broke in, because, no, he is not the only one who broke promises in their relationship.

"And what about you, Dean? You promised you wouldn't keep anything from me. You promised that if anything was bothering you, you would tell me so we could fix it together. If you wanted to hunt, all you had to do was tell me and..." he trailed off.

Dean picked it right up. "...You were, what? Going to come with me? Wait at home like a nervous wife? Yeah, right. I didn't _want_ to hunt, Steve. Not really. I liked domestic life. At leat until we drifted."

Silence reigned for a mile or two. Steve trying to marshall his thoughts again while Dean shoved the memory of Crazy Lady from his mind. He's not throwing away her words of warning. He's not.

"I screwed up, I know that," Steve started, "but I didn't get the chance to apologize before you _just_ _took off_. I spent the last _year_ looking for you, Dean. Or almost a year. More than half, at least. You were in _Hawaii_. You, at least on some level, wanted to come home. Why didn't you just come home, Dean? Most of us already forgave you.

"Catherine misses you like crazy. Kamekona, though he won't outright admit it, he misses you as well. Chin and Kono. Grace." Here he paused, pulling Dean forward. "Danny. He misses you far more than I care to admit. You guys were friends. Good friends."

Dean sighed but kept his gaze focused on the road. "I missed them, too, Steve."

That was it. Steve felt anger grow in his stomach. That's all they get? A simple, 'I miss them, too?' Really. That's it?

"You know what, screw you, Dean. That's not enough."

"I know."

"You know? Oh, he knows," Steve exploded, channeling Danny. "That's good. That's great. He knows just how much of a jackass he's been by running and staying running while me, and my team, searched for him for _months_. He knows that we have been put through an emotional wringer while he played house with a shapeshifter and then ran off with Daddy and baby brother."

Panting, Steve shook his head and clenched his hands to keep from reaching out and throttling the hunter. He took a few minutes to calm himself down to more serene and calm level.

"I - I just want to come home, Steve. I _need_ to come home. If only to keep everyone safe," he muttered the last part to himself. "I will do all the penance you and the others want. Just as long as we're back on the island instead of here. Now, shush. I need to think."

Steve's mouth dropped open in outrage but no words came out. He feels immense sympathy for Danny for whenever he pissed him off enough that he was rendered speechless. This is not fun. All the words of indignation that he's currently feeling but all of them are jumbled up because he can't figure out which ones he wants to say first. Alas, Dean's already in Brooding Mode. Even if he found the right words, the hunter wouldn't hear them.

They're going to have words later, and this time Dean won't be able to piss him off so much that he forgets his words.

Miles passed by, daylight brightening the dreary sky that threatened to rain, Dean hummed along to a song only he can hear, his face relaxed and posture completely at ease, like they're back on Oahu and going for a day drive, traveling aimlessly. Those days were rare. Steve's fault. He can admit that. Sometimes work just took priority, and he knows Dean knew that, it doesn't make it any easier to swallow that he couldn't just unplug and spend a day with his boyfriend.

Danny made time. For Grace. For Gabby. For Dean. Chin did for Malia. Kono for Adam. He was the one that couldn't do it. Catherine even urged him to take a day after she went on a hike with Dean.

Everyone on his team made time for his boyfriend when he wouldn't. So, maybe when they do have the Talk, Steve's going to have to be a bit more upfront about his on short-comings. Danny'd faint while the Wonder Twins would share that silent language of theirs and Catherine would be laughing her ass off and filming the whole ordeal. They're all jerks but it's not like he wouldn't've acted the same way if they had to do it too.

Taking out his phone, Steve shot off a text to Chin because if he asked anyone else, they'd make a Big Deal about it. He asked if he could clean out his place and air it out, he's bringing a surprise back.

 **Are you f*cking with me? -Chin**

Okay, then. So even Chin's going to make this into something bigger than it needs to be.

 _ **Not messing w/you. Can u do it? -Steve**_

Dean glanced at him while he texted. Steve shook his head at him and continued texting Chin, who replied in all caps: **I SWEAR TO GOD MCGARRETT IF UR LYING I'LL SIC KONO & CATH ON YOU**

 _ **Not lying. Need you to do this on the DL. No one else can know. NO ONE**_

 **Fine. But u better hurry ur ass. They're gonna know**  
 **And b4 u ask how, they'll just KNOW**  
 **They're psychic like that**

Steve sighed audibly, earning a look from Dean. He waved him off and begged Chin to get it done without telling anyone. It's a tall order, considering his team, but if any of them could pull this off it would be Chin. No one'd suspect the older man to hide something this important from them. It's why he's the perfect person to go to.

 _ **Gonna be home in 2-3 days.**_  
 _ **Keep quiet until then**_

 **Can do. See you in a few**

He didn't need to send a response. Good thing. Dean's now staring at him instead of the road. Granted, there's no traffic anywhere in sight but it still made Steve slam a foot down on an imaginary brake, and he gestured for Dean to look at the road.

He has never felt more sympathy for Danny than at this moment.

Dean rolled his eyes at him but he did look back to where he's driving. Good, because Steve's heart threatened to burst out of his chest. He will never do that to Danny again. Geez.

The sun finally peeked out behind some clouds, temporarily blinding Steve and earning a pained grunt from Dean. Both men hunched down and raised an arm to block out the light, stupidly forgetting to put down the flaps that actually blocks out the light. Not that it mattered, clouds quickly blocked out the eye-stabbing sunlight, leaving them with spots dancing around their retinas.

"That was fun," Dean muttered sarcastically, pulling a smile from Steve.

More miles rolled by as Steve's rental steadily ate up the distance to wherever Dean's going. He doesn't like that he's not the one driving or that he doesn't know where they're headed to. It's the ingrained habit of being the one in charge, or, as Danny would say, him being a control freak.

By the time they finally stopped, the sun is high in the sky and their in a quaint little town in a low valley surrounded by towering mountains, kind of reminding him of the Alps.

Dean gestured for him to stay in the car while he went inside the bank. Steve counted the time until Dean came back out with two bags full of money and a nervous expression, one that had Steve tensing and sitting up, hand automatically going to his hip where his gun would be if he had bothered to put his holster on before they left Seattle. His eyes swept the front of the bank then the surrounding area, looking for any hostiles that threatened him and Dean's safety.

Finding nothing worth worrying over, Steve switched his attention back to Dean and his nervous expression. He catalogued every inch of Dean's person and reactions and an image started to form in his head that maybe Dean just robbed Roman Cahill's account again.

His dad won't be happy about that. Or the others that helped set up that account.

Steve knows Dean just managed to pay back what he spent of Cahill's while he was in Hawaii. He also knows that Dean and the others consistently put money in the "fake" account as an emergency contingency of some kind. Low on ingredients to catch the Ooky Spooky? Need a place to crash that isn't infested with bed bugs and cockroaches? Gas money? God knows they all like to drive all over the country. Medical emergency? But why Dean as Cahill and not an older hunter?

If he really wants to know, Steve could just _ask_. Dean's right here, throwing the bags of cash in the back, and looking like he just pulled off a heist that went off without a hitch.

Grinning at him with that Devil-may-care smile that never ceases to make his heart jump and his cock harden, Dean gunned the engine and they peeled out of there like they really did just rob a bank. The guys back home would have a field day with that information.

Dean drove back towards the coast, his body completely and utterly relaxed and a small, happy smile on his face. There were no shadows in his eyes.

"Ready to go home?" Dean asked, lolling his head to look at Steve and Steve gave him the wide, goofy smile Danny says he has when he's genuinely happy, and replied simply, "Yes."


End file.
